Erbil court postpones trial of five detained on security charges
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The trial of another five Duhok men held on security charges has been postponed to next week due to the absence of a judge, their lawyer told Rudaw on Monday.
“The trial of the detainees has been postponed to July 13. One of the judges was not present, and the substitute judge said that he was not familiar with the case, therefore a decision to postpone the case was made,” Bashdar Hassan told Rudaw English on Monday.
Amer Khalid Agid, Frsat Ahmad, Jamal Khalil, Suleiman Kamal, and Suleiman Mousa, all from Duhok, are accused trying to “undermine” the stability of the Kurdistan Region through establishing a political party with Iraqi President Barham Salih and forming a group to support current Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
“Affiliation to a person or a political figure is not a crime. I do not see how these accusations are a crime,” Hassan said.
Families of the detainees were present in front of the Erbil court on Monday. Footage from local media showed the daughter of one of the detainees calling on President Nechirvan Barzani to save her father, saying “My father is not a spy.”
The five detainees were among several people arrested during anti-government Duhok protests last year. In February, five journalists and activists – Sherwan Sherwani, Shvan Saeed, Ayaz Karam, Hariwan Issa, and Guhdar Zebari – were put on trial for “endangering the national security of the Kurdistan Region.” They were found guilty and sentenced to six years in jail, prompting outcry from media watchdogs and human rights groups, as well as diplomatic representatives in the Region.
Erbil’s appellate court upheld the original ruling last month, after several appeals. Several foreign missions have criticized the court ruling
Rudaw English reached out to Dindar Zebari, the KRG's Coordinator for International Advocacy, for comment, but were referred to the Supreme Judicial Council who have not responded to Rudaw English at the time of publication.