Kurdish journalist Hemin Mamand Erbil Iraqi Kurdistan, 2020. Photo: rojnews.news
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Kurdish journalist Hêmin Mamand was released on bail on Sunday after being held in custody for eleven days.
Mamand’s lawyer Goran Dibagay told NRT TV that the journalist was released on 5 million Iraqi dinar ($4,200) bail.
He was arrested on March 24 at his home in Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil after criticizing Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in a Facebook post.
Mamand has drawn the ire of the authorities in Erbil in the past and was recently sued by Matin Dlovan Idris Barzani, Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani’s nephew for defamation.
In his Facebook post, Mamand predicted that the KRG would not protect residents from bearing the cost of the coronavirus shutdown. Although the government has said that it would suspend payments on things like rent and government loan repayments, he argued that other costs like internet and monthly generator bills would come due while people were not working or receiving their salaries because of the coronavirus curfew.
For many years, transparency organizations, lawmakers, observers, and international organizations have accused senior Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government KRG officials of corruption, especially with regard to expropriation of the Kurdistan’s oil income.
Kurdistan considered as the most corrupted part of Iraq. According to Kurdish lawmakers and leaked documents billions of dollars are missing from Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil revenues.
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