Suspects in rape of girl child rearrested in Iraqi Kurdistan: council
Illustrative Photo: Reuters
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— After being released on bail last week, three youths suspected of raping a seven-year-old girl in April have been rearrested, according to Iraqi Kurdistan region’s Judicial Council.
Their release sparked outcry from the girl’s family, who protested in Erbil on Saturday.
The girl’s father said on Saturday that the suspects had again tried to kidnap his daughter while they were on release and demanded that they be rearrested.
“The investigation has restarted. The criminals were arrested again. The head of Judicial Council was even working on it on Friday. Investigations are ongoing,” Council spokesperson Shahram Mir Haj said later on Saturday.
The case has been complicated by allegations that the family has come under pressure from members of the security forces, who have reportedly sought to protect the suspects.
“I was told to drop the lawsuit and that those persons have support and they will be released again,” the girl’s father said at the protest on Saturday, adding that “some officials behind the crime are a policeman, a colonel, and a colonel police” in reference to those who had pressured him.
The three suspects were initially released on bail on June 17.
Also involved in the case are the girl’s step-mother and the step-mother’s sister, who were accused of facilitating the initial kidnapping. Both were arrested, but were released on bail at an earlier date.
Earlier in June, Kurdish police in Duhok city, said it had found the body of a 10-year-old girl, Dlin Walid, after being raped and murdered. Police said they have arrested two people. “The men admitted that they kidnapped, raped, and killed the young girl,”
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