ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Family and a police official in Erbil revealed that prominent Kurdish writer Farhad Pirbal is undergoing treatment and is not arrested, as rumored. There are plans to send him to Europe for treatment. "We want Farhad of before to carry his satchel bag, to hold forums with thousands of participants, and to go back to university. Thousands of doctors and engineers in this city have been taught by Farhad," Ziyad Qasab, Farhad Pirbal's brother, told Rudaw. Pirbal was detained in March following a request by his family members after his psychological state deteriorated. He previously was sent to Germany by KDP officials to receive treatment for his psychological problems, but he left before the completion of his treatment. A video of him saying “Even gypsies don’t throw their own away, but you Kurds threw me away,” says one Facebook video, accompanied some other posts with #FreeFarhadPirbal hashtags. "They have placed him in a special facility. He has his own doctor and medications. Inshallah, soon he will be better. Farhad is not imprisoned as some have claimed. Farhad is detained. Farhad needed to be treated in a special facility," Qasab added. He is hopeful that Farhad will become "100 percent cured", adding the government has backed him and supported him. "If Farhad had not been a prominent figure, the government would not have treated him," Qasab said. Pirbal was detained on March 11 by the Erbil police after he publicly defamed Turkmen lawmaker Mona Qahwachi. Following the incident, his family issued a statement, revealing that Pirbal had psychological issues and urging the authorities to take the necessary steps to rehabilitate him. The family claimed he was addicted to drugs and he was a threat to the safety and security of the public. "Based on the medical reports, two doctors currently are supervising the psychological and physical state of Dr. Farhad. What we aim for Dr. Farhad, as a resident of this city, is to return into the community as a doctor,” the director of Erbil’s Police Department, Abdulkhaliq Talaat, told Rudaw So far in 2018, five lawsuits have been filed against Pirbal, and two of them have reached court proceedings. "[A case is based on] Article 229, and [another based on] Article 477, and two other cases [are] based on the Article 433. Most of them are easy cases. A bail is possible. In two cases investigations have been concluded and he has been allowed a bail. There are three other cases against him, and we are asking for a bail," Govand Baban, Farhad Pirbal's lawyer, told Rudaw. The police director also revealed that should his current treatment fail, he will be sent abroad. Pirbal was born in 1961 in Erbil. He has obtained his doctorate on "The History of Kurdish Literature" from Paris-Sorbonne University and has penned 43 books. He has been a lecturer at Salahaddin University in Erbil since 1994. He is known for his fiery statements and his strong Kurdish nationalist sentiments. At one time he burnt his Iraqi passport, strongly advocating for Kurdistan’s independence.
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