The Badinan Prisoners
Updates and Biographies
After speaking with families and witnessing over 19 trials conducted by the Erbil Criminal and Appellate courts, CPT believes the courts are being used to limit Freedom of Expression and punish people who criticize the government. We have seen no substantial evidence of the crimes they are charged with and call on the KRG to conduct fair and immediate trials so that these prisoners may be cleared of all charges and released, including those already falsely convicted.
Sherwan Sherwani
Charges: Violently abducted on 7 October 2020. Eventually acknowledged to be in Asaish custody and charged with espionage and sabotage under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Court Appearance: He appeared in court alongside Eyaz Karam, Guhdar Zebari, Hariwan Essa and Shivan Saeed. The first trial was conducted over 2 days on the 15-16 of February 2021. Despite lack of substantial evidence they were convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison. This decision was appealed and upheld twice, on the 6 May and 27 June 2021.
In February 2023 it was announced that Sherwan would be released on September 9th. However, he is now facing more charges of misuse of communication technologies in relation to doing media interviews from the prison.
On July 20th 2023, Sherwan was additionally convicted under Iraqi Penal Code Articles 295 and 298 for ‘falsification of documents’ relating to an internal request made by the five remaining imprisoned Badinan prisoners to the Erbil Adult Prison administration. It is alleged that Sherwani illegally signed the documents for Guhdar Zebari, who was in solitary confinement at the time. Sherwani was sentenced to four years in prison.
Biography: Sherwan Sherwani is an independent journalist who has worked for many years to expose government corruption. The Kurdistan Regional Government has attempted to silence Sherwan since he started reporting on the government’s corruption. On 7 October 2020, a group of ten armed and unidentified men entered Sherwan’s home and seized his computer, recorder, camera, and phone. The group then held a gun to Sherwan’s head in front of his wife and children and abducted him.
Eyaz Karam
Charges: Abducted on 22 October 2020. Eventually acknowledged to be in Asaish custody and charged with espionage and sabotage under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Court Appearance: He appeared in court alongside Sherwan Sherwani, Gugdar Zebari, Hariwan Essa and Shivan Saeed. The first trial was conducted over 2 days on the 15-16 of February 2021. Despite lack of substantial evidence they were convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison. This decision was appealed and upheld twice, on the 6 May and 27 June 2021.
On March 17, 2023 he was released from prison.
Biography: Eyaz Karam has been working as a journalist for 11 years. He was a reporter in Rojava for NRT at the height of the ISIS assault in Syria. He has also reported on Turkey’s cross-border bombings in the Kurdistan Region. Eyaz has been arrested 17 times because of his work and activism to bring awareness to corruption.
Guhdar Zebari
Charges: Arrested on 22 October he was taken to an unknown location. Eventually acknowledged to be in Asaish custody and charged with espionage and sabotage under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Court Appearance: He appeared in court alongside Sherwan Sherwani, Eyaz Karam, Hariwan Essa and Shivan Saeed. The first trial was conducted over 2 days on the 15-16 of February 2021. Despite lack of substantial evidence they were convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison. This decision was appealed and upheld twice, on the 6 May and 27 June 2021.
On August 29 2022 Guhdar was separated from the other Badinan prisoners because of accusations he was sending information to the media. Prison security has changed their accusations multiple times to justify the separation of Guhdar from the other prisoners.
In March 2023 he was sentenced for an additional seven months on charges of misuse of communication, the sentence was subsequently reduced to five months.
Guhdar was scheduled for release in August 2023 but new charges for possession of an unregistered firearm were filed against him. The trial, held on 1 October 2023, sentenced Guhdar to an additional six months in prison.
Biography: Guhdar Zebari is from Akre district in Duhok province. He started working as a journalist 10 years ago. He has been a reporter for both NRT and Speda TV. He has received multiple death threats for his work to expose corruption.
Hariwan Essa
Charges: Arrested On October 22, the ruling political parties’ security forces arrested Hariwan again. His current location is still unknown since his arrest.
Court Appearance: He appeared in court alongside Sherwan Sherwani, Eyaz Karam, Guhdar Zebari and Shivan Saeed. The first trial was conducted over 2 days on the 15-16 of February 2021. Despite lack of substantial evidence they were convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison. This decision was appealed and upheld twice, on the 6 May and 27 June 2021.
On March 17, 2023 he was released from prison.
Biography: Hariwan Essa is a school teacher and civil society activist. After criticizing the Kurdistan Regional Government for its corruption and failure to pay salaries of government employees, Hariwan received numerous death threats and was arrested allegedly for his activism.
Shivan Saeed
Charges: Arrested on 22 October 2021. He was eventually acknowledged to be in Asaish custody and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Court Appearance: He appeared in court alongside Sherwan Sherwani, Eyaz Karam, Guhdar Zebari and Hariwan Essa. The first trial was conducted over 2 days on the 15-16 of February 2021. Despite lack of substantial evidence they were convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison. This decision was appealed and upheld twice, on the 6 May and 27 June 2021.
On March 17, 2023 he was released from prison.
Biography: Shvan Saeed is a mullah and civil society activist. In 2018, Shvan was fired from his work because of his speeches during Friday prayers, where he called for justice in Iraqi Kurdistan and criticized the Kurdistan Regional Government. Shvan then became an activist and worked to advocate for justice and equality. He was arrested on August 18, 2020 for organizing a demonstration which brought attention to the KRG’s delay in payment of salaries for government employees. After Shvan was released from prison, he was assaulted and abducted by security forces on October 22.
Qaraman Shukri
Charges: Arrested on 27 January 2021. Eventually charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Court Appearance: Was sentenced to 7 years in prison. According to Qaraman Shukri’s relatives, the trial and sentencing took place without anyone from the family being informed, and in the absence of a defence lawyer that Qaraman could choose.
Biography: Qaraman Shukri, 24 years old. He became journalist after the assassination of his father in December 2016, who was also a journalist. He has been arrested three times since working as a journalist.
On January 27 he was asleep when a security force entered his family home in the early hours of the morning. They arrested him and confiscated all of his journalism materials.
On June 27th, his mom visited him in prison and Qaraman told her that he had already been sentenced to 7 years in jail on an accusation of threatening national security. Qaraman’s lawyer hadn’t been told to present at the trail or been informed that it was occuring. According to the family members of Qaraman, he was convicted in a secret prison.
Berivan Ayoub
Charges: Arrested on Oct 13, 2020 inside Family Mall, Erbil while with her 9 year old daughter. Abdul-Mutalib, a Syrian refugee living in Erbil, was also arrested. They were later charged under Article No.1, law No.21, 2003 of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Court Appearances: Berivan was held for 18 months without trial. She did not see a lawyer until after 1 year in prison. She was due to finally stand Trial on February 14 2022, but it was post-poned. On February 28 the court case began but then was adjourned to March 6 . In court she was accused of planning to attack the Sadaf, Arcelik Turkish companies in Erbil, and planning to assassinate KDP leaders and Turkish diplomats. Despite the lack of evidence she was charged and sentenced to two years in prison, including time served.
After numerous delays, she was released 10 May, 2022. When released she was told she will be monitored for 5 years with numerous restrictions.
Biography: Berivan Ayoub was born in 1985 in Duhok and later moved to Erbil. She is the mother of five children, who she was not able to see while in prison. Berivan was an activist at the 2020 Duhok Governorate demonstrations protesting against corruption. She continues to advocate for women’s rights and political rights.
Omed Barushky
Charges: Arrested on 21 August 2020. Eventually charged with defamation under Article 2 of Law to Prevent the Misuse of Telecommunications Equipment in the Kurdistan Region (Law No.6 of 2008).
He was also charged with acts of espionage and sabotage under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. During the court trial this was changed to Article 222 of the Iraqi Penal Code, for organising public gatherings.
Court Appearance: On 22 June 2021 he was sentenced to one year in prison for two counts of defamation. On 23 September he was sentenced to another year on two more charges of defamation. On 17 October he received 6 more months on a similar charge.
A court trial for charges of espionage and sabotage, in which he appeared in court with Badal Barwari, was postponed four times before being heard on 19 October 2021. During the trial the judges changed the law he was to be charged under and convicted him to 1 year in prison, which included time served.
He was released from prison on February 22, 2022.
Biography: Omed Barushky started working as a journalist two years ago, and has an ID with Metro Center. He has been arrested multiple times for organizing demonstrations bringing attention to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s corruption. He was originally arrested in August last year for joining journalists and teachers in a demonstration to urge the government to pay the salaries of all government employees. His charges of defamation all relate to social media posts made about government corruption and violations by security forces.
Badal Barwari
Charges: Arrested 21 August 2021. Later charged with acts of espionage and sabotage under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. During the court trial this was changed to Article 222 of the Iraqi Penal Code, for organising public gatherings.
Court Appearance: He is appeared in court with fellow prisoner Omed Barushky. The trial was postponed four times before being heard on 19 October 2021. During the trial the judges changed the law he was to be charged under and convicted him to 1 year in prison, which included time served.
He was released on 20 November 2021. Since his release he has continued to be closely monitored by the government and Asaish.
Biography: Badal Barwary has been a teacher for 24 years and a civil society activist for many years.
He was originally arrested while he was in a demonstration to demand his salary and the salaries of all government employees that had not been paid by the Kurdistan Regional Government for over six months. His family had tried several times to release him on bail, but the court refused to release him.
Masoud Ali Haji
Charges: Arrested in Duhok on 25 August 2020, Masoud was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003).
Court Appearance: He appeared with fellow prisoners Bandawar Ayoub, Sherwan Taha, and Karger Abas. His court trial was postponed 4 times. On 20 October 2021 the final statements from the prosecution and defense were heard. One judge resigned from the case after hearing the evidence and the decision was postponed. On 8 November 2021 he was convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison.
Biography: Born in Duhok in 1974, Masoud has a Bachelor in Chemical Science and has been teaching in high school for 22 years. He is married with three children. From 2009-2018 he was a member of Change Movement. In 2018 he joined The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, which was at the time led by President Barham Salih. In 2019 he left the party and became a civil activist.
Bandawar Ayoub
Charges: Arrested in Duhok on the 4 September 2020, Bandawar was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003).
Court Appearance: He appeared with fellow prisoners Karger Abas, Sherwan Taha, and Masoud Ali. His court trial was postponed 4 times. On 20 October 2021 the final statements from the prosecution and defense were heard. One judge resigned from the case after hearing the evidence and the decision was been postponed. On 8 November 2021 he was convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 2 months on time served and released from prison.
Biography: Born in Duhok in 1994, Badawar was studying for high school leaving certificate and working as a plumber at the time of his arrest. Six months before he was arrested he got engaged. He has been involved in politics since 2015 and joined PUK in 2016. In 2018 he joined The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, which was at the time led by President Barham Salih.
His father had a heart attack brought on by the stress of his son’s situation and is now bed ridden.
Sleman Kamal
Charges: Arrested in Akre on the 6 September 2020, Sleman was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003). This was later changed to Article 56.
Court Appearance: He appeared with fellow prisoners Dr Aamer Khalid, Jamal Khalil, Sleman Moussa and Firsat Ahmed. His court trial was postponed 3 times. On 21 October 2021 the charge was changed to Article 56 of the Iraqi Penal Code Law No.111 of 1969. He received a one year sentence on time served and was released.
Biography: Born in Amedi in 1966, Sleman has been serving as a peshmerga for 25 years. He is married with four children. From 2002 to 2015 he was actively working as a member of PDK in Akre. He then stopped his political activities until 2017 when he helped found The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, alongside President Barham Salih. From 2017 to 2019 he was the head of the party office in Akre. From 2015 he has been an active member of civil society criticising government corruption and asking for reform.
Jamal Khalil Majeed
Charges: Arrested in Zakho on the 4 September 2020, Jamal was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003). This was later changed to Article 56.
Court Appearance: He is appearing with fellow prisoners Dr Aamer Khalid, Sleman Kamal, Sleman Moussa and Firsat Ahmed. His court trial was postponed 3 times. On 21 October 2021 the charge was changed to Article 56 of the Iraqi Penal Code Law No.111 of 1969. He received a one year sentence on time served and was released.
Biography: Born in Zakho in 1980, Jamal has been a high school teacher for 18 years and has a Masters in Physics. He is married with two children. Until 2017 he was a human rights activist, he then joined The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, which was at the time led by President Barham Salih. From 2018 to 2019 he was the head of the party office in Zakho.
Dr Aamer Khalid
Charges: Arrested in Duhok on the 9 September 2020, Aamer was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003).
Court Appearance: He is appearing with fellow prisoners Sleman Kamal, Jamal Khalil, Sleman Moussa and Firsat Ahmed. His court trial was postponed 3 times. On 21 October 2021 he was finally acquitted on all charges.
Biography: Born in Mosul in 1970, Dr Aamer has a PHD in Arabic Language. He was a PDK member until 2018 when he joined The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, at the time led by President Barham Salih. He was a candidate for the party and head of their election list in Duhok in 2018. He has been a high school and University teacher for 26 years. After the liberation of Sinjar Dr Aamer, alongside Sherwan Taha, was part of a project to support Yezidi women who had been captured by ISIS.
Sherwan Taha
Charges: Arrested in Duhok on the 5 September 2020, Sherwan was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003).
Court Appearance: He appeared with fellow prisoners Bandawar Ayoub, Masoud Ali, and Karger Abas. His court trial was postponed 4 times. On 20 October 2021 the final statements from the prosecution and defense were heard. One judge resigned from the case after hearing the evidence and the decision was postponed. On 8 November 2021 he was convicted and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison.
Biography: Born in Zakho in 1986, Sherwan has a Bachelor in English Language Teaching from Salahaddin University in Erbil and a Masters in Adult Education from Glasgow University in the United Kingdom. In 2016 he was accepted and traveled to the SUSI program in the United States of America. Sherwan also taught at the University of Newroz in Duhok. In 2017 he started working as program manager for ACTED, an international organisation, who he was working for at the time of his arrest. He was not a member of any political party but was a close friend of Masoud Ali and Dr Aamer Khalid and participated in non-violent demonstrations against the government cutting salaries of public employees.
On September 5 Sherwan’s mother tried to meet with him in Asaish prison, they did not allow her to see him and the next day she died from a heart attack.
Sleman Musa
Charges: Arrested in Akre on the 6 September 2020, Sleman was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003). This was later changed to Article 56.
Court Appearance: He is appearing with fellow prisoners Dr Aamer Khalid, Jamal Khalil, Sleman Kamal and Firsat Ahmed. His court trial was postponed 3 times. On 21 October 2021 the charge was changed to Article 56 of the Iraqi Penal Code Law No.111 of 1969. He received a one year sentence on time served and was released.
Biography: Born in 1979, Sleman has a Bachelor of History and Bachelor of Law. He is married with six children. For four years he was headmaster of a school in Akre. He fought against ISIS as a volunteer Peshmerga in Bashik Mountain. He was a PDK member from 1996 until 2018 when he joined The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, at the time led by President Barham Salih.
Kager Abas
Charges: Arrested in Duhok on the 4 September 2020, Karger was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003).
Court Appearance: He appeared with fellow prisoners Badawar Ayoub, Sherwan Taha, and Masoud Ali. His court trial was postponed 4 times. On 20 October 2021 the final statements from the prosecution and defense were heard. One judge resigned from the case after hearing the evidence and the decision was been postponed. On 8 November 2021 he was convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 2 months on time served and released.
Biography: Born in Duhok in 1992, Karger was in his second year of university studying administration at the time of his arrest. He is married with one child and is an active member of the Duhok civil society. In 2018 he joined The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, which was at the time led by President Barham Salih.
Fersat Ahmed
Charges: Arrested in Akre on 6 September 2020, Firsat was accused of anti-state activities and charged under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003). This was later changed to Article 56.
Court Appearance: He is appearing with fellow prisoners Dr Aamer Khalid, Jamal Khalil, Sleman Moussa and Sleman Kamal. His court trial was postponed 3 times. On 21 October 2021 the charge was changed to Article 56 of the Iraqi Penal Code Law No.111 of 1969. He received a one year sentence on time served and was released.
Biography: Born in 1974, Firsat has a Bachelor in Architecture and has served for 21 years as a governmental employee and a member of PDK for 26 years. He became Director of Renovations for the Education Department in Duhok until he left in 2018 to join The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, at the time led by President Barham Salih.
Amjad Yousif
Charges: Arrested in December 2020. Before their arrest the 5 Badinan prisoners from Shiladze had been criticizing the KRG government for corruption and a lack of transparency. They had publicly shared their concerns about the Turkish cross-border bombardments in Iraqi Kurdistan and protested against the presence of Turkish military bases in Shiladze and KRI. Since their arrest, they have been accused of violating KRI’s national security and collaborating with PKK.
Court Appearance: He did not sit trial until May 16 2022, appearing alongside Mahmood Naji, Nechir Badih, Kovan Tariq and Yousif Sherif.
During their imprisonment they were frequently denied meeting or talking with defense lawyers. All the 5 prisoners claimed that they were tortured during their investigation process. Electrical shock, beating, dousing in cold water and other forms of torture were used to coerce the prisoners to confess to crimes they never committed.
They were convicted under Article 1, Law Number 23, (KRI Parliament 2003), which prohibits "acts prejudicial to the security, stability and sovereignty of the Kurdistan region of Iraq", and sentenced to 2 years in prison, including time served.
They were due to be released in May 2022, however their conditional release was denied and they began a hunger strike in prison. They were finally released on December 14, 2022.
Yousef Sharif
Charges: Arrested in December 2020. Before their arrest the 5 Badinan prisoners from Shiladze had been criticizing the KRG government for corruption and a lack of transparency. They had publicly shared their concerns about the Turkish cross-border bombardments in Iraqi Kurdistan and protested against the presence of Turkish military bases in Shiladze and KRI. Since their arrest, they have been accused of violating KRI’s national security and collaborating with PKK.
Court Appearance: He did not sit trial until May 16 2022, appearing alongside Amjad Yousif, Mahmood Naji, Nechir Badih, and Kovan Tariq.
During their imprisonment they were frequently denied meeting or talking with defense lawyers. All the 5 prisoners claimed that they were tortured during their investigation process. Electrical shock, beating, dousing in cold water and other forms of torture were used to coerce the prisoners to confess to crimes they never committed.
They were convicted under Article 1, Law Number 23, (KRI Parliament 2003), which prohibits "acts prejudicial to the security, stability and sovereignty of the Kurdistan region of Iraq", and sentenced to 2 years in prison, including time served.
They were due to be released in May 2022, however their conditional release was denied and they began a hunger strike in prison. They were finally released on December 14, 2022.
Kovan Tariq
Charges: Arrested in December 2020. Before their arrest the 5 Badinan prisoners from Shiladze had been criticizing the KRG government for corruption and a lack of transparency. They had publicly shared their concerns about the Turkish cross-border bombardments in Iraqi Kurdistan and protested against the presence of Turkish military bases in Shiladze and KRI. Since their arrest, they have been accused of violating KRI’s national security and collaborating with PKK.
Court Appearance: He did not sit trial until May 16 2022, appearing alongside Amjad Yousif, Mahmood Naji, Nechir Badih and Yousif Sherif.
During their imprisonment they were frequently denied meeting or talking with defense lawyers. All the 5 prisoners claimed that they were tortured during their investigation process. Electrical shock, beating, dousing in cold water and other forms of torture were used to coerce the prisoners to confess to crimes they never committed.
They were convicted under Article 1, Law Number 23, (KRI Parliament 2003), which prohibits "acts prejudicial to the security, stability and sovereignty of the Kurdistan region of Iraq", and sentenced to 2 years in prison, including time served.
They were due to be released in May 2022, however their conditional release was denied and they began a hunger strike in prison. They were finally released on December 14, 2022.
Nazir Barwary
Charges: Arrested on 11 February 2021, charged with conducting acts of espionage and being affiliated with PKK under Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, article 156 as amended by Law No.21 (2003) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Court Appearance: On 19 September 2021, sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Biography: Nazir was a political activist and a member of the Social Office at PUK headquarter in Zakho. He has been a member of Kurdish National Congress KNK (in which all Kurdish political parties have representives, except for PDK) for 4 years.
Nechir Badih
Charges: Arrested in December 2020. Before their arrest the 5 Badinan prisoners from Shiladze had been criticizing the KRG government for corruption and a lack of transparency. They had publicly shared their concerns about the Turkish cross-border bombardments in Iraqi Kurdistan and protested against the presence of Turkish military bases in Shiladze and KRI. Since their arrest, they have been accused of violating KRI’s national security and collaborating with PKK.
Court Appearance: He did not sit trial until May 16 2022, appearing alongside Amjad Yousif, Mahmood Naji, Kovan Tariq and Yousif Sherif.
During their imprisonment they were frequently denied meeting or talking with defense lawyers. All the 5 prisoners claimed that they were tortured during their investigation process. Electrical shock, beating, dousing in cold water and other forms of torture were used to coerce the prisoners to confess to crimes they never committed.
They were convicted under Article 1, Law Number 23, (KRI Parliament 2003), which prohibits "acts prejudicial to the security, stability and sovereignty of the Kurdistan region of Iraq" and sentenced to 2 years in prison, including time served.
They were due to be released in May 2022, however their conditional release was denied and they began a hunger strike in prison. They were finally released on December 14, 2022.
Mahmood Naji
Charges: Arrested in December 2020. Before their arrest the 5 Badinan prisoners from Shiladze had been criticizing the KRG government for corruption and a lack of transparency. They had publicly shared their concerns about the Turkish cross-border bombardments in Iraqi Kurdistan and protested against the presence of Turkish military bases in Shiladze and KRI. Since their arrest, they have been accused of violating KRI’s national security and collaborating with PKK.
Court Appearance: He did not sit trial until May 16 2022, appearing alongside Amjad Yousif, Nechir Badih, Kovan Tariq and Yousif Sherif.
During their imprisonment they were frequently denied meeting or talking with defense lawyers. All the 5 prisoners claimed that they were tortured during their investigation process. Electrical shock, beating, dousing in cold water and other forms of torture were used to coerce the prisoners to confess to crimes they never committed.
They were convicted under Article 1, Law Number 23, (KRI Parliament 2003), which prohibits "acts prejudicial to the security, stability and sovereignty of the Kurdistan region of Iraq", and sentenced to 2 years in prison, including time served.
They were due to be released in May 2022, however their conditional release was denied and they began a hunger strike in prison. They were finally released on December 14, 2022.
Xallat Sindy
Charges: Arrested in July 2021, charged with defamation under Article 2 of Law to Prevent the Misuse of Telecommunications Equipment in the Kurdistan Region (Law No.6 of 2008)
Court Appearance: On 23 September 2021, sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Biography: Xallat is a Kurdish activist based out of the United Kingdom. He is known for making comments about government corruption on social media.