ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A journalist from Sulaimani has been summoned to an Erbil court on a defamation charge.
Hemin Baqir is editor-in-chief of Diplomatic Magazine. He was taken in by Sulaimani police on Sunday and released three hours later on 4 million dinars (around $2,740) bail.
Baqir said Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw called him to explain the warrant was issued by Erbil authorities on the charge of defamation, Article 433 of the Iraqi penal code, and the alleged offense occurred prior to his current employment at Diplomatic Magazine.
“The governor himself told me it’s because of an old case from Lvin Press,” Baqir told Rudaw English.
But Baqir said the police did not give details of the case against him. “My problem is I am not told who the complainant is, nor what it’s about. They just say it’s an order from Erbil and we are only executing it. The judge and police told me that,” he said.
He will appear in an Erbil court on Tuesday. If convicted, he could face jail time or a fine.
A Kurdish media watchdog voiced their support for Baqir. “We reiterate that in democracy, an investigative report is like a complaint from the public when a report covers corruption and the misuse of power by government employees," reads a statement from the Metro Center for Journalist Rights and Advocacy.
Baqir said he worked at Lvin Magazine from 2003 to 2016 as deputy editor-in-chief. “I have been a journalist for 20 years now. I was at Lvin for 13 years. This is the first time I am being sued,” he said.
Lvin Magazine is an independent media organization. In 2011, its editor-in-chief Ahmed Mira was arrested and beaten by Sulaimani police, according to Reporters Without Borders. That same year, the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) tried to shut down the magazine.
The United Nations last week accused authorities in the Kurdistan Region of using criminal charges such as defamation and the misuse of technology to target journalists.
Local and international media watchdogs have accused the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of clamping down on freedom of the press after several violations including jailing journalists known for their anti-establishment writing.
Reporters Without Borders in April criticized the KRG's regard to press freedom saying there are "no limits to the persecution of journalists who criticize its ruling families."
Updated at 8:18 pm
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