A volunteer lawyer affirmed the case of the 65 young Kirkukis arrested by the security forces in Kirkuk a month ago in the Kurd-predominant neighborhoods of Kirkuk has not been determined yet while one of the winning candidates in the parliamentary elections for Kirkuk province says that "the case is finally shut good."
On October 11th and 12th, Kirkuk local police arrested 65 young Kurdish men in Rahimawa and Shorja neighborhoods per charges of "undermining security" in the city of Kirkuk.
These arrests came after these young men celebrated after the announcement of the preliminary results of the early legislative elections in Iraq, which escalated into altercations with members of the security forces.
Although the arrested Kirkukis were released on bail the following day, October 13th, according to attorney Ahang Anwar, who volunteered to defend these arrested, their files in court have not been closed yet.
"The case of these young men has not yet been closed in court. It is scheduled to be decided within the next month whether the case will be closed or whether they will be prosecuted," Anwar said.
"It is possible that their cases will be closed permanently, but this has not happened yet."
It is possible that their cases will be closed permanently, but that has not happened yet
The detainees were released following rejections by the two leading Kurdish parties Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK, who contacted Iraqi Premier Mustafa al-Kadhimi while a group of Kurdish volunteer lawyers in Kirkuk said “the release was per legal procedures not political demands as PUK and KDP claim.”
Located 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, Kirkuk is an ethnically mixed province for 1.6 million Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen, Muslims, Christians and Kaka'is. It has long been at the center of disputes between Baghdad and the Erbil.
The Kurds had an upper hand in Kirkuk up to 2017 when Iraqi security forces declared victory over the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria ISIS and took over power in the disputed territories including Kirkuk.
However, the winning candidate for Iraqi parliament from the Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP, Shakhwan Abdullah, told KirkukNow, "I personally worked on that case. On November 10th, the case was closed by a decision of a judge because the incident did not cause any damage."
Abdullah stressed that he had the court order on closing the case, but "will not publish it."
36 of the arrested are from Al-Shorja neighborhood, while the other 29 reside in Rahimawa neighborhood. They were arrested by the army and the forces of the 61st Special Brigade and handed over to the local police who arrested them under Article 222 of the Iraqi Penal Code.
Swara Ahmed, a pseudonym for one of these young detainees, said, "I had nothing to do with the celebrations and gatherings when I was arrested, but I was close to them and they arrested me.”
“I did not receive my mobile phone yet... I went to the Azadi police station to retrieve my phone, but they told me it was not in their possession. It might be in the possession of the 61st Special Brigade."
Kirkuk, October 12th 2021: Security forces deployed in al-Shorja neighborhood after arresting a number of Kurdish celebrators. Kirkuk Police Media
The first item of Article 222 states, “If the purpose of the gathering was to commit a felony or misdemeanor, to prevent the implementation of laws, regulations, or decisions, or to influence the authorities in their work, or to deprive a person of freedom of action, and if that influence or deprivation was by force or threat, then everyone who called to this gathering or manage its movement, and whoever participates with knowledge of its purpose or remains there and does not move away after becoming aware of the aforementioned purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years and a fine, or both these two penalties.”
Under this article, the penalty also includes persons who called for the assembly, ran the assembly or participated in it and were aware of the purpose behind it. It also includes people who did not stay away from the assembly site despite the fact that they were aware of the purpose behind it.
Kirkuk Police Department spokesman Amer Nuri said, "We do not have any coordination with that force that arrested these young men, so we cannot investigate the case, but in general, nothing serious against these young men."
"We directed the Azadi Police Station to return the detainees' belongings to them."
There over tens of units and forces, including paramilitaries deployed in Kirkuk.
Currently, Iraqi army, local and federal police, Brigade 61 of Special Forces along with Shiite paramilitary of Popular Mobilization Forces PMF, are under Kirkuk joint operations’ command, an umbrella for the security forces running the security of Kirkuk province.
