Badinan journalist held since 2020 to be released next week: Lawyer
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Sherwan Sherwani, one of the journalists arrested during the 2020 anti-government protests in Duhok, is set to be released next week after serving over four years in prison, according to one of his lawyers.
Sherwani was arrested alongside a group of other journalists and activists in October 2020 for his involvement in protests over unpaid wages by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). They were called the Badinan detainees because they came from Badini areas in Duhok province. He and four others were sentenced to six years behind bars in February 2021 on charges of 'endangering national security.'
His sentence was reduced by 50 percent in February 2022 by a decree from Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani but he was given four more years in prison by an Erbil court in July 2023 on charges of faking a legal document. The new term was handed just two months before his scheduled release. Another decree from Barzani reduced the sentence to two years.
'My client was supposed to be released on the 9th of this month, but today at 12:00 pm we completed the procedures. When I went to court, the judge had already left, and he has taken leave tomorrow, so his release will be next week,' lawyer Mohammed Abdullah told Rudaw on Wednesday.
The trials and prison sentences of the Badinan prisoners drew outcry from diplomats, media watchdogs, and human rights groups who highlighted flaws in the legal system and accused Kurdish authorities of cracking down on dissent - charges the KRG has denied.
Amnesty International has slammed the KRG for Sherwani's imprisonment, saying he was detained on 'bogus charges of espionage and sharing information with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).'
'The trial was marred by serious violations of the right to a fair trial, including allegations of torture and other ill-treatment that were not investigated, the reliance on torture-tainted confessions, and a refusal to allow defence lawyers timely access to the case files,' Amnesty lamented.
Kurdish authorities have repeatedly faced harsh criticism for their treatment of journalists as well as imposing restrictive measures on the press.
A total of 182 violations were committed against journalists and media outlets in 2024, according to figures from Metro Center for Journalists Right and Advocacy, a decline compared to the 231 violations recorded the year before.
Solin Hamadamin contributed to this report.
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