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Ask the Kurdistan Regional Government to guarantee a fair appeal process for the Badinan prisoners
The Badinan prisoners are waiting for a court appeal that could potentially guarantee their freedom.
For more than six months, dozens of journalists and civil rights activists from the Badinan region of Iraqi Kurdistan were imprisoned because they criticized corruption in the region’s political parties and participated in nonviolent protests. On February 16, the Criminal court in Erbil sentenced five of the Badinan activists and journalists Sherwan Sherwani, Ayaz Karam, Guhdar Zebari, Shivan Saeed, and Hariwan Issa to six years of prison for alleged
The Badinan prisoners are waiting for a court appeal that could potentially guarantee their freedom.
For more than six months, dozens of journalists and civil rights activists from the Badinan region of Iraqi Kurdistan were imprisoned because they criticized corruption in the region’s political parties and participated in nonviolent protests. On February 16, the Criminal court in Erbil sentenced five of the Badinan activists and journalists Sherwan Sherwani, Ayaz Karam, Guhdar Zebari, Shivan Saeed, and Hariwan Issa to six years of prison for alleged espionage and sabotage without sufficient evidence and due process.
In a press conference before the Badinan prisoners’ court trial, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani declared the Badinan prisoners that they were “neither activists nor journalists.” He even accused them of being saboteurs and spying for other countries.
The unjust sentencing that CPT observed creates a dangerous precedent that puts journalists and civil society initiatives in Iraqi Kurdistan at risk.
espionage and sabotage without sufficient evidence and due process.
In a press conference before the Badinan prisoners’ court trial, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani declared the Badinan prisoners that they were “neither activists nor journalists.” He even accused them of being saboteurs and spying for other countries.
The unjust sentencing that CPT observed creates a dangerous precedent that puts journalists and civil society initiatives in Iraqi Kurdistan at risk.
We invite you to join us and request that the Kurdistan Regional Government guarantee a fair appeal process for the Badinan prisoners.
Make a sign!
“I am asking the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to guarantee a fair appeal process for the Badinan prisoners.”
Take a photo of yourself with the sign and, if you can, record a short video with the same message for the KRG and its Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
Please post this photo or video on your social media with these hashtags:
“I am asking the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to guarantee a fair appeal process for the Badinan prisoners.”
Take a photo of yourself with the sign and, if you can, record a short video with the same message for the KRG and its Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
Please post this photo or video on your social media with these hashtags:
Thank you for holding the Kurdistan Regional Government accountable and supporting the Badinan prisoners.
Watch:
Kurdish Journalism: Between Suppression and Resistance
Learn about the systematic suppression of freedom of the press runs rampant throughout Iraqi Kurdistan today.
