Kurdish journalist Suleyman Ahmed, who was detained by forces of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Iraqi Kurdistan at the Sêmalka border crossing between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and North and East Syria, remains missing for over 50 days, and his lawyer alleges misconduct in the handling of his case.
Ahmed, editor of the Arabic service of Roj News, was travelling back to the KRI from his family home in northeastern Syria when he was detained on 25 October. Duhok security forces confirmed his arrest in a statement six days later, but claimed it was ‘unrelated to journalism’. There has been no information about his whereabouts since then.
The journalist’s lawyers have made more than 10 requests to meet Ahmet, but have not been granted access.
“Suleyman is currently being held by Duhok Security. Despite all our requests and efforts, we are not allowed to meet with him. A delegation of lawyers has already met with the security forces. We have also applied several times to meet with our client and find out about his case. However, the security forces deny us any meeting,” Nerîman Ehmed, one of Ahmet’s lawyers, told the Mezopotamya agency.
Ehmed highlighted possible violations of Iraqi law by the Duhok security forces. According to Iraqi law, the length of detention is not predetermined until the investigation is complete. Individuals can be detained until the investigation is complete, after which they should be referred to the judiciary.
However, Ehmed noted that Iraqi law grants every detained person, regardless of their status, the right to meet with their legal representatives within 24 hours. This right, she stressed, is inherent to the individual and the pre-trial investigation is expected to be completed before the actual trial begins. Ehmed described the behaviour of the Duhok security forces as illegal.
