It has been 77 days since Kurdish journalist Suleyman Ahmed was detained by security forces from the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraqi Kurdistan, and that was the last anyone heard of him.
Ahmed’s mother, Sûltane, who has been pleading for information about the journalist’s well-being, told Mezopotamya News Agency that all she wanted now was to hear her son’s voice again.
Ahmed, editor of the Arabic service of Roj News, was returning to Iraqi Kurdistan from his family home in northeast Syria when he was detained at the Sêmalka border crossing on 25 October. Duhok security forces confirmed his arrest in a statement six days later, but claimed it was ‘unrelated to journalism’. This was the only and last information they’ve provided so far, despite several requests for visits from lawyers and public appeals from journalists in the region.
Concerned for Ahmet’s welfare, Roj News recently filed a complaint with the United Nations (UN) asking for intervention in the case.
Frustrated by the lack of information, Sûltane Ahmed questioned the motives behind her son’s arrest, saying: “Why did the KDP arrest my son? Why don’t they give me any information? Why can’t they say, ‘Your son is in our custody’? What does it mean that they don’t want to tell me anything about what happened to him? On what grounds have they detained my son?”
Left in a state of uncertainty, Sûltane said her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. “My heart is heavy. My son is not a thief, and he has not killed anyone, either. The job he has is clear. My son is a Kurd, a journalist and a child of this land. I just want to know what happened to my son.”
Mustafa Ahmed, the journalist’s uncle, echoed the family’s despair, saying: “Months have passed and we’ve still not heard. No one is giving us any kind of information about the situation”. He also called on journalists’ organisations not to remain silent on the matter and to take a stand.
