Sherwan Sherwani's Imprisonment is a Violation of Freedom Principles

PUKMEDIA

The PUK's Media Bureau

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Media Bureau has released a statement regarding the four-year reincarceration of journalist Sherwan Sherwani.

The following is the full statement of the Media Bureau:

Following the Erbil Court's second sentence of journalist Sherwan Sherwani to four years in prison, hundreds of new questions have been raised about the freedom of speech, criticism, and publication in Kurdistan. Freedom in the Kurdistan Region is perilous, but it has never been slandered in international, human rights organization, or journalism reports.

On February 16, 2021, the Erbil Court sentenced Sherwan Sherwani and four others to six years in prison under Article 156 of the Iraqi Penal Code.

On July 20, 2023, Sherwan Sherwani was sentenced to another four years in prison under Articles 298 and 295.

Although the trial followed Kurdistan's legal guidelines and the journalistic code, writing and publishing are not punishable by jail time. To prevent the reputation of freedom of expression in our region from getting worse, we all hoped that the courts would cease to be subject to the pressure and influence of the political arena.

A free and peaceful Kurdistan should not imprison its writers or political and civic activists but rather treat them with the respect and freedom they deserve.



PUKMEDIA