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Kurdish legal expert comments on
defamation case
31.1.2006
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RFI
correspondent Shamal Ramadan reported on 27 January
from Erbil that Kurdish intellectual and Austrian
citizen Kamal Sayyid Qadir would be retried because
of procedural issues in his first trial. Qadir was
convicted last month of defaming the Kurdish cause
and the intelligence service of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party in articles that he wrote while in
Austria. According to Qadir, his initial trial
lasted only 15 minutes. In his report, Ramadan
interviewed Muhammad Umar, member of the Irbil Court
of Cassation.
RFI: Please describe the state of Kamal
Qadir's case.
Muhammad Umar:
Doctor Kamal Qadir has been sentenced by the
Criminal Court in Erbil to two 15-year terms on two
separate indictments. But as the case was passed to
the Court of Cassation, the Penal Board at the Court
of Cassation reviewed the case and stated that the
act of the defendant does not fall under Article 156
of the Penal Code as amended by Article 1 of Law No.
21 of 2003.
The amended Article 156 of the Penal Code covers
acts of external attack against the independence of
the country, which has not been the case of the
defendant. The Court of Cassation has stated that
the act of the defendant falls under Article 433 of
the Penal Code.
Based on this, the [Court of Cassation] has
abolished the sentences issued by the Criminal Court
in Irbil and returned the case to the Court of
Investigations, which should pass the case on to
another court, with the defendant [facing charges]
under Article 433. |
Dr Kamal Said Qadir, Austrian citizen, an
international legal expert, writer and human rights
activist |
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RFI: You have mentioned that the man has been
sentenced to two 15-year terms. Why were there two
indictments? What outcome do you expect from his
retrial at the Court of Cassation?
Umar: He was
sentenced twice because there were two separate
allegations, filed by two different parties. There
were two complaints against him and the sentences
were issued against him independently of one
another. Concerning my expectations of his upcoming
trial, the investigations judge will pass the case
to a court of misdemeanors, not a criminal court.
[Qadir] will be tried by the Court of Misdemeanors
in Irbil on charges based on Article 433 of the
Penal Code, and the sentence can be either
imprisonment or fine.
RFI: What are the minimum and maximum
sentences possible in this case?
Umar: As for
imprisonment, in misdemeanor cases it varies from
three months to five years. This depends on the
decision of the court, which we cannot interfere in.
It is fully within the rights and competence of the
court.
RFI: It has been reported that the prime
minister of the [Kurdistan regional] government has
demanded that many of the plaintiffs withdraw their
suits. Is this true?
Umar: I have no
information on that. But I guess that the case is on
its way to its final resolution, and it will come to
an end within a few days.
RFI: Has the defendant been given special
treatment -- I mean the overturning of the sentences
and the expected retrial?
Umar: I can
confirm that this case has not enjoyed any
exceptional attention, being like any other of the
many ordinary cases. The Kurdistan regional
government respects the independence of the
judiciary, and [the case] has remained within the
authority of the courts in charge. No interference
has violated this freedom, and no there has been no
interference in favor of issuing particular
sentences. The competence of the courts has not been
violated by any outside interference.
Statement From Lawyer Jamal Qasim
Below is a statement by lawyer Jamal Qasim, a member
of the Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly for the
Kurdistan Democratic Party, that was recorded by RFI
on 27 January.
Jamal Qasim: As far as I can see as a lawyer,
no one will object to the Court of Cassation
decision -- neither those who called for the
punishment of Dr. Kamal [Qadir], nor those who have
been mentioned in the [allegedly defamatory] texts
and publications by him. There is no need to issue
an amnesty because there is absolutely no intention
to call Dr. Kamal [Qadir] to responsibility. In my
opinion, he will be released within a week or, at
most, a few days [more than that]. I think there is
no justification for keeping him imprisoned, as he
has been in jail now for some three months.
www.rferl.org
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