Activist and teacher Badal Barwari (File)
PM:01:11:06/08/2021
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SULAIMANI — Defense lawyers for activist Badal Barwari on Thursday (August 5) formally demanded that the court urgently proceed with his case on health grounds.
They noted that Barwari has been in prison continuously for more than a year, which they argued has taken a toll on his health.
Barwari and journalist Omed Baroshki were arrested by the local security forces in Duhok governorate, which are affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), on August 18, 2020 during a crackdown on people critical of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties.
After months without receiving a hearing, they were brought before a panel of three judges on July 29, but the case was thrown into disarray when witnesses refuted the prosecution’s case, saying that statements attributed to them were untrue or obtained through coercion.
The judges then decided to postpone the trial until late September.
Barwari’s son told NRT that his father has lost a considerable amount of weight during his time in prison, dropping from 110 kilos (242 pounds) when he was arrested to 60 kilos (132 pounds) now.
Bawari’s case and those of more than a dozen other activists and journalists are widely viewed as politically motivated retribution for their criticism of the government and its economic policies.
It is also seen as a prime example of the Kurdistan Region’s authoritarian turn in recent years.
(NRT Digital Media)