ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s Cassation Court has dropped all charges against Syrian Kurdish journalist Sulaiman Ahmed and ordered his “immediate release” after 440 days behind bars on espionage charges, his lawyer said on Monday.
Ahmed worked as a journalist for Rojnews, affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He was arrested in October 2023 by Duhok security forces and sentenced to three years in prison for what they said was his involvement in “secret and illegal activities for the PKK.”
“The Kurdistan Region’s Cassation Court has dropped all charges against journalist Sulaiman Ahmed and ordered his immediate release,” Bashdar Hassan, head of Ahmed’s legal team, told Rudaw.
Hassan said that the five-member court unanimously decided to cancel his prison sentence.
The Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy, a local media watchdog, welcomed the decision to release Ahmed and congratulated his team of lawyers.
“Metro once again calls on the courts not to be used as a factor of pressure and revenge against journalists and freedom fighters,” the watchdog said in a statement.
Ahmed, who was the Arabic section editor for Rojnews, was arrested on October 25, 2023, while entering the Kurdistan Region from Syria, where he had been visiting family.
At the time of his arrest, Rojnews said that he was detained for his alleged membership in northeast Syria’s (Rojava) ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD).
For months after his arrest, Rojnews and other PKK-affiliated outlets claimed that Ahmed had been “kidnapped” by Kurdistan Region authorities.
His lawyers were finally able to meet him on May 22 of last year, when they signed a power of attorney.
Ahmed worked as a journalist for Rojnews, affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He was arrested in October 2023 by Duhok security forces and sentenced to three years in prison for what they said was his involvement in “secret and illegal activities for the PKK.”
“The Kurdistan Region’s Cassation Court has dropped all charges against journalist Sulaiman Ahmed and ordered his immediate release,” Bashdar Hassan, head of Ahmed’s legal team, told Rudaw.
Hassan said that the five-member court unanimously decided to cancel his prison sentence.
The Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy, a local media watchdog, welcomed the decision to release Ahmed and congratulated his team of lawyers.
“Metro once again calls on the courts not to be used as a factor of pressure and revenge against journalists and freedom fighters,” the watchdog said in a statement.
Ahmed, who was the Arabic section editor for Rojnews, was arrested on October 25, 2023, while entering the Kurdistan Region from Syria, where he had been visiting family.
At the time of his arrest, Rojnews said that he was detained for his alleged membership in northeast Syria’s (Rojava) ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD).
For months after his arrest, Rojnews and other PKK-affiliated outlets claimed that Ahmed had been “kidnapped” by Kurdistan Region authorities.
His lawyers were finally able to meet him on May 22 of last year, when they signed a power of attorney.
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