KDP forces rearrested journalist Hemin Mamand in Iraqi Kurdistan

HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Kurdish journalist Hêmin Mamand was rearrested at his house in Erbil late on Monday by members of the KDP security security forces, one day after being released on bail.

Mamand’s lawyer Bashdar Hassan told NRT TV that the reason for his rearrest was not immediately known.

The journalist was initially taken into custody on March 24 in Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil after criticizing Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in a Facebook post and was released on Sunday on 5 million Iraqi dinar ($4,185) bail.

Another of his lawyers, Goran Dibagaiy, said on April 1 that Mamand was charged with violating Article 2 of the [the Iraqi Penal Code’s] Communication Devices Misuse Law.

Watchdog groups and the Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate say that the law is broadly-written, allowing the government and political parties to use it to intimidate journalists and stifle dissent. In recent years, they have aggressively used the law in an attempt to circumvent the KRG’s 2007 Journalism Law.

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.

Iraqi Kurdistan is not unified region, it is divided politically and geographically between the Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP led by Massoud Barzani and PUK led by the Talabani’s clan.

Copyright © 2020, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | nrttv.com

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