ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Kurdish social media influencer was arrested on Sunday in Sulaimani after referring to a vehicle by the name of a popular Kurdish singer, a common practice in the Kurdistan Region.
Helin Awat, who has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, was arrested after video footage circulated in which she referred to a motorbike by its common nickname of “Karim Kaban,” the name of a late Kurdish singer.
“I get a lot of comments asking me ‘did you not buy a Range Rover, did you not buy a [Mercedes] G-Class?’ I thought I would make it a surprise for you all that I received a Karim Kaban. I will be selling groceries with it," she said in the video.
Sulaimani police arrested Awat on Sunday for what they have told Rudaw English was a “misuse of social media.” According to police, the Kurdistan Artists’ Syndicate have issued a lawsuit against her for “insulting a cultural figure” despite Awat having already issued an apology video to her Instagram account.
In the video released on Saturday, Awat said that she had “no bad intention” in using the common nickname.
"They have been calling those vehicles by that name for years, why is it a big deal now?" one Instagram user commented.
Article 22, section three of Iraq's cybercrime law punishes anyone that "uses computers and the internet to attribute terms, images, sounds, or any other means that include libel and insult to others" with up to two years in prison and up to a five-million dinar fine.
Human Rights Watch has previously criticised the law for threatening freedom of speech. The legislation has been used to target journalists and activists across Iraq.
“If parliament passes the law, it will further undermine the already narrow field for free speech and stifle public discussion and debate online,” HRW's senior conflict and crisis researcher Belkis Wille said in November.
The 2008 Kurdistan misuse of telecommunication devices law says that "anyone who uses their devices as a mean to threaten, defame, or posting content that does not go along with the social standards," even if true, can be sentenced to up to five years in prison and also face up to a five-million dinar fine.
“It is true she regrets it, however retracting her statement will not do her any good. She needs to pay for her mistake,” Sarkawt Ahmad, spokesperson for Sulaimani Police told Rudaw on Sunday. “Anyone that insults such symbols of art and culture will be arrested.”
“It is okay if we say it among ourselves, however if someone does it for such a wide audience, it is unacceptable and insulting to the family of the artist. It is a misuse of social media, which is why she was arrested,” Ahmad told Rudaw English on Monday.
Naming vehicles and other devices after celebrities started in the mid-2000s when Nokia phones were named after leading political figures Jalal Talabani and Masoud Barzani. The names are usually used to make fun of an individual’s physical appearance, and can also be used to compare to politicians' behaviour.
The naming of cars also started around the same period after older Toyota land cruisers were named after Monica Lewinsky, and Nissan pickup trucks after the late Kurdish singer Marziyah Fariqi. The trend continued with the election of former US President Barack Obama, when Chrysler cars were named after him.
Rudaw English contacted the Artists Syndicate, who refused to comment over the phone.
Artists in the Kurdistan Region have had their freedom of speech increasingly restricted in recent months.
On January 14, the Kurdistan Region Parliament's judicial committee filed a lawsuit against prominent Duhok poet Halgurd Qahar, for "insulting parliament" in a video clip released earlier that month.
