Cairo  23 October 2012

ANHRI denounces the use of force to disperse  peaceful demonstrations that took place in “Maysan” yesterday, Sunday, October 21, 2012. They have demonstrated due to the deteriorating services in the city after the rainstorm in the city. ANHRI also condemned the sentence issued against the journalist Karzan Karim due to publishing a report regarding the corruption in the airport of Irbil.

Iraqi security forces used weapons and batons to break into the demonstration and assaulted the demonstrators by beatings, insults and curses.

“Maysan” witnessed  a peaceful demonstrations that included dozens of people in front of the municipal council to protest due to the poor services in the governrate due to rainstorm that took place in the governorate in “Maysan” and it led to the sinking of the several homes as a result of the accumulation of the water in their residential areas. In addition to the cut of the electricity in more than one area in the governorate. Moreover, the water swamps in the streets and public parks.

On the other hand, the police forces of Kurdistan region have arrested the journalist “Karzan Karim” as the court of Irbil, Sunday October 7, 2012, have sentenced him to two years, in accordance with the Article no. 21, which legislated by the Parliament of the region, due to publishing a report related to corruption in Irbil Airport in addition to some details about the President of the national Security Council Masrour Barzani and his moves.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned article which he has been held accountability, stipulates “life or temporary imprisonment whoever intentionally committed an act compromise the security and sovereignty of the institutions the region of Kurdistan of Iraq.”

ANHRI said that “the persistence of the Iraqi police forces to use force and violence to suppress the peaceful demonstrators and opinion makers, will get Iraq back in time to the era of Saddam Hussein, which was characterized by suppression and the use of excessive violence to restrict freedoms. That is the same approach that is used in the current government in an attempt to silence the voices and proves at the same time that post-Saddam Iraq did not learn from the experiences of Arab spring countries, which has proved it beyond a reasonable doubt the failure of security solutions in dealing with the demonstrators”.

ANHRI called for the need to resort to the press violations and journalism labor laws instead of the bad-reputation Article no. 21.  ANHRI also called for “the immediate release of the detained journalist “Karim” and all those who are arrested for expressing their opinions”.

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