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Kurdistan
A nephew of Badal Barwari holds up a photo of his jailed uncle outside an Erbil court on July 29, 2021. File photo: Dilan Sirwan/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The trial of two Duhok detainees, a teacher and a journalist, was postponed again on Tuesday, according to one of their lawyers. The pair is facing charges of espionage and has been in jail for over a year.
The hearing was postponed because judges were absent and one new court member hasn’t yet taken up their position, lawyer Harem Rafaat told media outside the courthouse. The new date is expected to be announced in a few hours, he added.
Teacher and activist Badal Barwari and journalist Omed Baroshki were among dozens arrested in Duhok in the summer of 2020 after anti-government protests over unpaid wages. Five of their co-defendants were convicted in February on charges of “endangering national security,” but the cases of Barwari and Baroshki were sent back to the court for further hearings because of a lack of evidence.
Their case has been postponed numerous times. They were scheduled to return to court in September for the continuation of their trial after an earlier hearing was postponed in July because some witnesses were unable to attend, but that too was postponed.
Two other trials of multiple defendants arrested in Duhok were also postponed this month for similar reasons.
Family members and advocacy organizations are concerned about the health of the detainees who have been in jail for more than a year. Last month, 81 of the detainees went on hunger strike, according to the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a civil advocacy organization.
CPT’s Christopher Lee previously told Rudaw English they are worried about the men’s health. “We are very concerned about their condition as we have known about Badal and Omed before. They have lost weight since we last saw them,” he said.
Baroshki was convicted in June and sentenced to a year in prison on a separate charge of “misusing a communication device.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has come under fire for the prosecution of the Duhok detainees. Erbil has defended the trials, stating that the courts are independent and has requested assistance from the UN and foreign missions to strengthen the legal system and train judges.
The hearing was postponed because judges were absent and one new court member hasn’t yet taken up their position, lawyer Harem Rafaat told media outside the courthouse. The new date is expected to be announced in a few hours, he added.
Teacher and activist Badal Barwari and journalist Omed Baroshki were among dozens arrested in Duhok in the summer of 2020 after anti-government protests over unpaid wages. Five of their co-defendants were convicted in February on charges of “endangering national security,” but the cases of Barwari and Baroshki were sent back to the court for further hearings because of a lack of evidence.
Their case has been postponed numerous times. They were scheduled to return to court in September for the continuation of their trial after an earlier hearing was postponed in July because some witnesses were unable to attend, but that too was postponed.
Two other trials of multiple defendants arrested in Duhok were also postponed this month for similar reasons.
Family members and advocacy organizations are concerned about the health of the detainees who have been in jail for more than a year. Last month, 81 of the detainees went on hunger strike, according to the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a civil advocacy organization.
CPT’s Christopher Lee previously told Rudaw English they are worried about the men’s health. “We are very concerned about their condition as we have known about Badal and Omed before. They have lost weight since we last saw them,” he said.
Baroshki was convicted in June and sentenced to a year in prison on a separate charge of “misusing a communication device.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has come under fire for the prosecution of the Duhok detainees. Erbil has defended the trials, stating that the courts are independent and has requested assistance from the UN and foreign missions to strengthen the legal system and train judges.
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