ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A journalism watchdog condemned the "prolonged detention" by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of political protestor Sherwan Ameen Sherwani on Friday.
"Sherwani, a Kurdish journalist and outspoken critic of the region's ruling Kurdish Democratic Party [KDP], was arrested by party-affiliated security forces in the Iraqi Kurdistan city of Duhok on January 28, and was accused by the Asayish intelligence service of committing acts against the security of the state..." read a statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
CPJ, citing his lawyer Xetab Omer, says he was detained while traveling to Duhok to protest. In the days prior, the Turkish military dropped bombs on alleged Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets. However, the air strikes killed a 13-year-old boy and 60-year-old man leading.
Following the attacks on January 26, many locals protested and stormed a Turkish military base in the town of Shiladze that is located in the north of Duhok province near the border with Turkey.
Rudaw has chronicled the detention of more than 60 protestors — many whom are said to belong to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and New Generation. The KDP is largest party in the Kurdistan Region and its stronghold is in Duhok and Erbil; whereas, the PUK and New Generation draw most of their support from Sulaimani and Halabja provinces.
The former has long been accused of being close to the PKK, while the latter ran on a joint list with a group close to the PKK in some disputed areas during the 2018 Iraqi parliamentary election. The PUK has taken recent steps to distance itself from the PKK.
The New Generation is led by Shaswar Abdulwahid. He founded Nalia Media Corporation (NRT News) and says he resigned from the company prior to New Generation's election campaign, but still owns some shares.
New Generation uses "volunteers" to frequently demonstrate against the KRG. The regional government lacks air defenses and has repeatedly requested for the Iraqi federal government to reach a deal with Ankara. The Turkish government lists the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Sherwani is currently in Gishty Prison in Duhok, his lawyer told CPJ. It is run by Kurdish security services (Asayesh).
Ragaz Kamal, co-founder of press freedom group 17Shubat, told CPJ that Sherwani has been accused of violating Article 156 of Iraqi Penal Code in 1969. The group has regularly protested KDP and the PUK while supporting the Change Movement (Gorran).
The semi-autonomous KRG enforces parts of pre-2003 Iraqi law, Kurdistan Region and current Iraqi law.
Sherwani regularly protests and live streams them on his Facebook page.
"People in this volatile region are entitled to all the footage, facts, and opinions that they can get," stated CPJ Middle East and North Africa Representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado.
"Reporting and criticism are not grounds for a day in jail, and we call on the Kurdish regional authorities to release Sherwan Amin Sherwani immediately and allow journalists to do their job freely," he added."
KRG says those arrested were inciting violence
Dindar Zebari, the KRG coordinator for international advocacy, told Rudaw English on Saturday that Sherwani and others were detained according to the aforementioned Iraqi law "to prevent the violence from escalating."
"The individuals who were arrested were due to their involvement in being the main reason behind the violence that occurred during the protests," said Zebari.
He acknowledged the 500 people gathered "to express their frustration regarding the bombardments."
"However, some people who had political agendas in mind encouraged protesters for violent acts and as a result human and material losses occurred including the injuring of two police officers," Zebari said.
The KRG official claimed those who remain detained in Duhok have "admitted that they have encouraged the protestors to do violent acts during their investigation."
The detainees have access to legal counsel.
"However, they cannot be released on bail since the Article that they were arrested on (Article 165) is a criminal legal article and anyone arrested by this Article cannot be released on bail," said Zebari.