Badinan Prisoner Journalist Still Detained Despite Legal Right to Release

Reports initially indicated that Journalist Qareman Shukri, who has been imprisoned for three years in Badinan, was released today. However, it has since emerged that these reports were premature, and he remains unjustly detained by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), despite being legally entitled to freedom.

Shukri was arrested in January 2021 by Duhok security forces and sentenced to seven years in prison. His imprisonment has garnered widespread attention, particularly due to the suspicious death of his father, Shukri Zaynedin Rekani, also a journalist, in Badinan.

There has been growing international pressure on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to address ongoing human rights violations, including the suppression of free speech and political dissent. The continued detention of Qareman Shukri is seen by many as part of a broader strategy by the KDP to intimidate journalists and their families.

Despite having fulfilled the legal requirements for release, the KDP’s refusal to free Shukri is viewed as an additional form of psychological torture against him, his family, and other journalists in the region. The situation underscores the broader challenges faced by those who dare to speak out against the authorities in Kurdistan.

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