The Committee to Shield Journalists (CPJ) urged on Wednesday that Kurdish authorities launch Iraqi Kurdish journalist Sherwan Sherwani after a courtroom prolonged his jail sentence, stating, “Sentencing Sherwani for a 3rd time on doubtful prices and imposing the utmost penalty reveals the authorities’ dedication to silence his vital voice and hold him behind bars.”
Sherwani was sentenced to a further 4 years and 5 months in jail by the Bnaslawa Misdemeanor Courtroom on Tuesday, because the Kurdistan Area of Iraq (KR-I) faces ongoing scrutiny over press freedom and the remedy of impartial journalists.
His lawyer, Mohammed Abdullah, referred to as the sentence “oppressive” and “predetermined,” noting that it repeats prior rulings. The cost stems from allegations that Sherwani threatened a counter-terrorism officer and his household whereas in detention, below Article 229 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which addresses assaults towards state staff. Sherwani denies the accusations, and his authorized group has indicated plans to attraction.
Sherwani, a contract journalist for Kiwan and political commentator, has lengthy coated human rights, corruption, and navy exercise in northern Iraq. He was first arrested in 2020, and in 2021, the Erbil Legal Courtroom sentenced him to 6 years on prices of “undermining nationwide safety.” A presidential decree later decreased his sentence, and subsequent convictions in 2023 prolonged his imprisonment for document-related allegations, later decreased on attraction, culminating within the present 2025 sentence.
Human rights organizations say Sherwani’s case displays broader systemic repression within the KR-I. Amnesty Worldwide documented arbitrary arrests, torture allegations, and unfair trials, noting that in 2023, 37 journalists had been arrested and 27 confronted assaults or threats. The Metro Middle for Journalists’ Rights and Advocacy corroborates these figures, highlighting patterns of intimidation and coerced confessions. Bissan Fakih, Amnesty’s Iraq Campaigner, mentioned, “Nobody ought to face harassment and intimidation merely for finishing up their journalistic work. Authorities ought to uphold human rights and press freedom.”
On the identical time, the Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate (KJS) reported 45 media and journalist rights violations in 2024, together with arrests, protection bans, assaults, and confiscation of apparatus. The Worldwide Federation of Journalists famous that whereas this represents a decline from earlier years, the persistence of such violations underscores ongoing threats to journalists’ security and independence. These developments stand in distinction to the Kurdistan Regional Authorities’s assertion that the area is a “beacon of press freedom.”
