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Iraqi Kurdistan: Judge jails Journalist
who criticized courthouse
6.11.2008
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November 6, 2008
New York, — The Iraqi Kurdistan court of
appeals should act immediately to overturn a judge's
ruling on Tuesday to impose a one-month prison term
against a journalist who published critical reports
about the Sulaimaniyah courthouse,www.ekurd.net
CPJ said Wednesday. The
journalist's lawyer said newly adopted legislation
does not appear to allow such a prison sentence.
The Criminal Court in Sulaimaniyah found Shwan Dawdi,
editor-in-chief of the Kirkuk-based Hawal newspaper,
guilty of three defamation charges filed by retired
judge Kemal Mustafa, the former director of
Sulaimaniyah courthouse. Dawdi was jailed on Tuesday
and fined 300,000 Iraqi dinars (US$255) for
publishing articles in 2004 on various court
problems.
"We had started to write regularly on courts since
2001," Dawdi told CPJ from his cell phone in
Al-Salam prison in Sulaimaniyah "During the time
[Mustafa] was the director of Sulaimaniyah
courthouse many problems happened." Sulaimaniyah
city is located in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan
region. |
Shwan Dawodi,
editor-in-chief of Weekly Hawal, a Kurdish language
newspaper created in 2001, Hawal is distributed in
Sulaimaniyah and Kirkuk. |
The newspaper, citing an unnamed source, reported
that Mustafa retired as part of an overall reform
plan, Star Khwa Rahm, Dawdi's lawyer, told CPJ.
Mustafa filed a court complaint, saying his
departure was voluntary and not connected to any
court problems. Mustafa filed two other complaints
as well: one for an article that raised questions
about the government's decision to reinstate Mustafa
in 2001; the other for coverage of disputes between
the judge and lawyers employed by the court,www.ekurd.net
Khwa Rahm said. The
lawyer said he is appealing the court's decision
tomorrow.
On September 22, the regional parliament passed a
new press law that lifts prison terms for defamation
cases. Khwa Rahm said he informed the judge of the
new legislation, but the judge "said that he has not
received such a law."
"The regional parliament in Iraqi Kurdistan has
abolished jail time for offenses under the Press
Law," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "Why
then has our colleague Shwan Dawdi been sent to
prison for his critical reporting? The court of
appeal must overturn this verdict and release him
immediately."
In May, CPJ issued a special report, "The Other
Iraq," that found increasing in repression in Iraqi
Kurdistan over the last three years.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA
Phone: (212) 465-1004
Fax: (212) 465-9568
Web: www.cpj.org
E-Mail: media@cpj.org
Copyright, respective author or news agency, cpj org
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