On 6 January 2025, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s Court of Appeals overturned the initial three-year prison sentence of Süleyman Ahmet, editor of the Arabic section of Roj News, based in Iraqi Kurdistan. Bashdar Hassan, one of Süleyman Ahmet’s lawyers, told international media that the Appeals Court, citing a lack of evidence, vacated the case after three hearings, which had been imposed by the Criminal Court in Duhok (Dihok).
Ahmet’s lawyer further stated that his client’s three-year sentence for ‘disrupting internal security’ was based on Article 1 of Law No. 21, enacted in 2003. Bashdar also commended journalists and advocates for their efforts in overturning the sentence.
Another of Suleyman Ahmad’s lawyers, Nariman Ahmad, confirmed to the Metro Center for protecting Journalists Rights that the three-year sentence had been overturned, stating, “From the outset, there was no evidence of any crime committed by my client, which led to the decision to cancel the sentence.”
In parallel, to the Court of Appeal of the Kurdistan Region’s ruling, the Metro Foundation issued a statement welcoming the decision. It also extended congratulations to the legal team, including Nariman Ahmet. Furthermore, the Metro Foundation implored authorities not to instrumentalise the courts for political reprisal against journalists and advocates for freedom, urging them instead to guarantee fair trials in cases concerning free expression.
Süleyman Ahmet worked in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî), Iraqi Kurdistan Region. He left for Aleppo (Heleb), Syria on 1 October 2023, to meet his family, and on 25 October 2023, he was arrested by KDP forces at the Pish Khabour border gate (Simalka) when he was returning to the KRI.
On 9 July 2024, the Duhok court sentenced Ahmet to three years in prison. Five days after his arrest, the KDP accused him of spying for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and announced that his arrest had nothing to do with journalistic activities.
Süleyman Ahmet has been in the KDP’s prison for 440 days, and although the order for his release has been approved by appealing court, he still remains in prison.
