Security forces in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) arrested journalist, Qahraman Shukri, on January 27, 2021. On June 23, 2021, the Duhok Criminal Court sentenced him to seven years in prison following a grossly unfair, secret trial. Before his arrest, Qahraman Shukri’s journalism work was critical of Kurdish authorities’ handling of Turkish air strikes in the KR-I. The Court of Cassation court upheld the seven-year sentence in October 2023. Qahraman Shukri’s arrest is in the context of a wider crackdown by Kurdish authorities on the right to freedom of expression. He must be immediately and unconditionally released.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: June 19, 2024
take action:
- Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
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contact information:
President Nechervan Idris Barzani
President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Email: C/O [email protected]
*Note: This UA is for the Kurdish Region of Iraq,
which has no embassy or Permanent Mission at the UN.
Please DO NOT direct actions to the
Embassy for Iraq in the United States
or Iraq’s Permanent Mission at the UN.
sample letter:
Your Excellency,
I am writing to demand the immediate and unconditional release of journalist, Qahraman Shukri, who has been imprisoned since January 2021. Following his arrest, Qahraman Shukri was forcibly disappeared for more than four months. In June 2021, the Duhok Criminal Court sentenced him to seven years in prison in a grossly unfair, secret trial, and in October 2023, the Court of Cassation upheld his conviction and sentence. Before his arrest, Qahraman Shukri’s journalism work was critical of Kurdish authorities’ handling of the impact on people of Turkish airstrikes in the province of Sulaimaniyah in the KR-I.
According to Qahraman Shukri’s family, on January 27, 2021, the Asayish, the KR-I Government’s primary security and intelligence agency, raided Qahraman Shukri’s family home and took him into custody. Qahraman Shukri’s family were unaware of the trial until they learned about it from him on a visit to the prison. The Duhok Criminal Court convicted him on charges of joining and spying for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and sharing material with them. The court appointed him a lawyer for his trial, however he was not allowed to choose his own lawyer, nor given adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense. Qahraman Shukri told his brother he was unaware of the trial until he was transported suddenly in a security vehicle. The Court of Cassation upheld the ruling on October 12, 2023, based on his confessions, which he says were extracted under duress.
I urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Qahraman Shukri, respect the right to freedom of expression, and ensure that journalists can freely do their job without fear of arbitrary arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment.
Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
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