Jan 10, (RSF), - Reporters Without Borders today
reiterated its call for the release of Kamal Sayid
Qadir after the Kurdish regional government in
northern Iraq said his 30-year prison sentence was
imposed in accordance with a law punishing
“defamation of public institutions.”
In a statement released yesterday, the Kurdish
authorities said the law, identified as Law 21, was
passed by the region’s national assembly and took
effect in 2003. “The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
affirms that the principles of human rights and
freedom of expression continue to be respected,
promoted, and assured for all persons throughout the
Kurdistan Region,” the statement added.
Reporters Without Borders said : “We find it hard to
believe that Iraq’s Kurdish authorities can say this
after just sentencing a lawyer to 30 years in prison
for defamation. Only extremely repressive countries
have recourse to such heavy sentences for so-called
crimes of opinion.” |
Dr Kamal Said Qadir, Austrian citizen, an
international legal expert, writer and human rights
activist
Photo: DIHA |
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