Iraqi Kurdistan court sentences Syrian journalist to three years
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 30 July 2024
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Sleman Ahmed, a Syrian journalist, was sentenced to three years in prison by a Duhok court on espionage charges. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling and calls for his immediate release.Summary
SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Iraqi Kurdish authorities to release Syrian journalist Sleman Ahmed after the Duhok criminal court sentenced him to three years in prison on espionage charges on Monday.
"CPJ is alarmed by the sentencing of Syrian journalist Sleman Ahmed, who has been detained for nine months," said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ's interim MENA program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. "We urge Iraqi Kurdistan authorities to release him without further delay and stop persecuting journalists for their work."
Authorities charged Ahmed with espionage on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), according to Ramazan Tartisi, one of Ahmed's lawyers, who spoke to CPJ. Tartisi and Luqman Ahmed, another member of the legal team who has no relation to the journalist, told CPJ that the journalist denied the charges and plans to appeal.
The separatist PKK is designated a terrorist organization by several countries and institutions, including the U.S., Turkey, and the European Union. Iraq officially banned the group last week.
Ahmed is the Arabic editor for the local news website RojNews, based in Sulaymaniyah, a city in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. RojNews is pro-PKK and regularly reports on the organization's activities.
The charges were "merely a means to retaliate against the journalist," Luqman Ahmed told CPJ, saying that the court had no evidence for the conviction and the legal process was "very unfair", adding that the lawyers were only allowed to attend the trial after pressure from the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and foreign consulates.
Iraqi Kurdish authorities arrested Ahmed on October 25, 2023, when he re-entered Kurdistan after a family visit in Syria. The Security Directorate (Asayish), responsible for border security in Duhok Governorate, accused him of conducting "secret and illegal" work for the PKK.
CPJ's call to Duhok Asayish Director Zeravan Baroshky for comment did not receive any reply.—A CPJ News Alert/Photo: Roj News
Key Points
- Sleman Ahmed sentenced to three years for alleged espionage in Iraqi Kurdistan.
- Authorities charged him with working for the PKK, labeled a terrorist organization.
- The journalist plans to appeal the court's decision and denies all charges.
- CPJ urges Iraqi authorities to stop persecuting journalists and ensure fair trials.
- Ahmed was arrested after returning from Syria, facing accusations of illegal work.
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