Syrian Journalist Sulaiman Ahmad has been waiting for 12 days since the charges against him were dropped by Iraqi Kurdistan Region IKR court.
Despite the decision made by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Court of Appeal on January 6 to drop the charges, Sulaiman Ahmad remains imprisoned due to the delayed printing and signing of his release letter.
Bashdar Hassan, a member of the legal team volunteered to represent journalist Sulaiman Ahmad, explained to KirkukNow that the delay in his release is due to a delay in processing the court order. When asked if the letter had been finalized, Hassan confirmed that it only needed to be delivered to the correctional facility in Duhok (Northern Province) where Ahmad is currently held.
Suleiman Ahmed, a reporter for the Arabic department of Rojnews, was arrested on October 25, 2023, at the Fishkhabur (Semelka) border crossing while returning to the Kurdistan Region from northeast of Syria.
Rojnews Agency says on its website that they belong to Chatr Publishing Company and publish their articles in Kurdish (both Sorani and Kurmanji dialects) and Arabic languages. The concessioner is Hasan Hama Raza and they are licensed by KRG.
Dohuk Asayish (Security forces) did not mention in its statement in November 2023 the charges against Ahmed as a journalist and indicated that the Asayish “arrested a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who was moving between Rojava (Kurdish region of Syria) and the Kurdistan Region (of Iraq) for secret and illegal tasks, so he was arrested.”
The statement stressed that Ahmed “confessed during the investigations and will be trialed as the court will deal with him in accordance with the law."
The Asayish statement came after the Rojnews - an institution licensed by the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG- announced in a statement the disappearance of journalist Suleiman Ahmed and accused the KRI Asayish security forces of the Kurdistan Region of arresting him.
The Duhok court sentenced Sulaiman Ahmad under the 2003 Kurdistan Parliament Law No. 21, which pertains to charges of espionage and disruption of national security. However, his legal team successfully appealed this decision, leading to the recent acquittal by the Erbil Court of Appeal.
Hassan expressed optimism that “the process would be completed early this week, with Sulaiman Ahmad expected to be released and reunited with his family soon."
Ahmed is originally from the Syrian city of Afrin, and has been residing legally in the IKR since 2018. In October 2023, he returned to his hometown to participate in his father’s funeral, and was arrested during his return to the Duhok Northern Province.
Ahmed, faced trial at the court of Duhok Northern Province 220 days after his arrest, under the same law that punished journalists and activists of Badinan.
In 2023, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) brought more than 50 activists, journalists, teachers, and others to court under the same law. So far, five people have been sentenced to prison under the law.
Law No. 21 is the same article that Saddam Hussein, as chairman of the Revolutionary Leadership Council, applied to the Kurdish Peshmerga and his regime's opposition before 2003, with minor changes.
