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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — After a controversial appeal court decision to uphold the convictions of five journalists and activists from Duhok, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Council of Ministers issued a statement late Friday saying the courts are free of government interference and the KRG values its partnerships with allied countries.
The KRG “reiterates that the judiciary in the Kurdistan Region is independent of the government. There is no way that the government can or would interfere in its proceedings,” reads the statement.
Members of the Kurdistan parliament, political parties, and the German foreign ministry have raised concerns about how the trial of Sherwan Sherwani, Shvan Saeed, Ayaz Karam, Hariwan Issa, and Guhdar Zebari was conducted and allegations that confessions were obtained under the threat The people who were found guilty in February of "endangering the national security of the Kurdistan Region" and sentenced to six years in jail.
A court of appeal has now upheld the lower court’s ruling saying the men had intended to "target sensitive areas and establishments in the Kurdistan Region… They had also contacted the American consulate and German consulate and took money from them. They also contacted the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party]."
Germany has criticized the ruling, calling on President Nechirvan Barzani to use his power to grant the men an amnesty. The US Consulate in Erbil has called on the KRG to “respect the work” of its diplomatic staff.
The cabinet statement said, “we strongly value our robust partnerships with our allies in the diplomatic and international community, especially in the fight against ISIS [Islamic State].”
Germany and the US are both important allies for the Kurdistan Region as members of the international coalition fighting ISIS and advising the Peshmerga Ministry in reforms to the Kurdish force.
The five men were among more than two dozen people arrested in Duhok province last year after anti-government protests over unpaid wages.
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