New Generation leader denies blackmail, defamation charges in court
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Shaswar Abdulwahid, leader of the New Generation Movement, denied charges of blackmail and defamation in a Sulaimani court on Monday, according to his lawyer. He was again denied bail.
Abdulwahid was arrested on May 16 as part of an ongoing probe into allegations of blackmail and defamation within the party.
“Every day we demand the release of them on bail,” Osman Sidiq, a lawyer representing Abdulwahid and other party officials, told Rudaw. “The court rejected all the requests.”
In addition to Abdulwahid, ten New Generation officials are under investigation. Five arrest warrants are still outstanding.
Abdulwahid has repeatedly accused the Sulaimani security forces of launching a politically-motivated attack on New Generation.
Earlier this month, the Asayesh released five video confessions by people close to Abdulwahid. They admitted to the blackmail, slander, and defamation of New Generation politicians.
Abdulwahid has appeared in court three times alongside the five other accused. He continues to deny the charges, Sidiq said.
The defamation charge relates to posts made on social media. The blackmail charge meanwhile relates to claims by Shadi Nawzad, an MP in the Kurdistan Region parliament, accusing Abdulwahid and others of issuing threats via text message to publish nude images of her.
The case follows a split in the party that began last month when several of its MPs in both the Erbil and Baghdad parliaments accused the leadership of betraying the party’s ideals.
The MPs specifically condemned Abdulwahid for allegedly turning the movement into a family business, undermining its collective decision-making process, and then trying to blackmail dissenters into silence.
In his statement to the court, Abdulwahid denied he was behind the defamation of colleagues on social media.
The New Generation leader said he had given his credit card to his secretaries in order to pay for sponsored Facebook posts promoting the party – not to “curse” opponents – according to his lawyer.
Abdulwahid was not arrested by police officers but by Asayesh security force, prompting criticism on social media. Critics say the case ought to be treated as a police matter.
Another lawyer representing Abdulwahid, who did not wish to be named, said: “I have tried to take the case away from Asayesh and help refer it to police, but my request was denied.”
However, Judge Omer Ahmed, spokesperson of the Sulaimani Court, said Abdulwahid’s case must be handled by the Asayesh.
“According to the Kurdistan Region’s Security Council law, organized crime related cases by a group of people should be handled by the Asayesh agencies,” he said.
Abdulwahid’s health is “unstable” as a result of an ongoing hunger strike, the party claimed last week.
However, according to Basma Mohammed, an official from Iraq’s Human Rights Commission who visited Abdulwahid in prison on Saturday, the New Generation chief is not on hunger strike.
“Shaswar Abdulwahid told me that his situation at prison is good and he has not gone on hunger strike,” Mohammed said, claiming Abdulwahid told her: “I am placed in solitary confinement at my own request because I do not like to be mixed with other inmates.”
Abdulwahid told her he had not given statements under “psychological or physical pressure”.
His secretaries are in good health and merely fasting, she said.
Abdulwahid was arrested on May 16 as part of an ongoing probe into allegations of blackmail and defamation within the party.
“Every day we demand the release of them on bail,” Osman Sidiq, a lawyer representing Abdulwahid and other party officials, told Rudaw. “The court rejected all the requests.”
In addition to Abdulwahid, ten New Generation officials are under investigation. Five arrest warrants are still outstanding.
Abdulwahid has repeatedly accused the Sulaimani security forces of launching a politically-motivated attack on New Generation.
Earlier this month, the Asayesh released five video confessions by people close to Abdulwahid. They admitted to the blackmail, slander, and defamation of New Generation politicians.
Abdulwahid has appeared in court three times alongside the five other accused. He continues to deny the charges, Sidiq said.
The defamation charge relates to posts made on social media. The blackmail charge meanwhile relates to claims by Shadi Nawzad, an MP in the Kurdistan Region parliament, accusing Abdulwahid and others of issuing threats via text message to publish nude images of her.
The case follows a split in the party that began last month when several of its MPs in both the Erbil and Baghdad parliaments accused the leadership of betraying the party’s ideals.
The MPs specifically condemned Abdulwahid for allegedly turning the movement into a family business, undermining its collective decision-making process, and then trying to blackmail dissenters into silence.
In his statement to the court, Abdulwahid denied he was behind the defamation of colleagues on social media.
The New Generation leader said he had given his credit card to his secretaries in order to pay for sponsored Facebook posts promoting the party – not to “curse” opponents – according to his lawyer.
Abdulwahid was not arrested by police officers but by Asayesh security force, prompting criticism on social media. Critics say the case ought to be treated as a police matter.
Another lawyer representing Abdulwahid, who did not wish to be named, said: “I have tried to take the case away from Asayesh and help refer it to police, but my request was denied.”
However, Judge Omer Ahmed, spokesperson of the Sulaimani Court, said Abdulwahid’s case must be handled by the Asayesh.
“According to the Kurdistan Region’s Security Council law, organized crime related cases by a group of people should be handled by the Asayesh agencies,” he said.
Abdulwahid’s health is “unstable” as a result of an ongoing hunger strike, the party claimed last week.
However, according to Basma Mohammed, an official from Iraq’s Human Rights Commission who visited Abdulwahid in prison on Saturday, the New Generation chief is not on hunger strike.
“Shaswar Abdulwahid told me that his situation at prison is good and he has not gone on hunger strike,” Mohammed said, claiming Abdulwahid told her: “I am placed in solitary confinement at my own request because I do not like to be mixed with other inmates.”
Abdulwahid told her he had not given statements under “psychological or physical pressure”.
His secretaries are in good health and merely fasting, she said.