Kurdistan Watch
@KurdistanWatch
Following an appeal, journalist Sherwan Sherwani's prison term was halved from four to two years.
Sherwani's attorney, Bashdar Hassan, remarked, "After initially sentencing Sherwan to four years, we lodged an appeal, leading to today's reduced two-year sentence."
While Sherwani was set for release in September this year, the Erbil court unexpectedly sentenced him on 20-07-2023 to a four-year additional term under articles 298 and 295.
Previously, on 16-02-2021, the Erbil Criminal Court handed Sherwan Sherwani, Ayaz Karam, Gohdar Mohammed Amin, Hariwan Isa, and Shvan Saeed six-year sentences for "undermining national security." In February 2022, Nechirvan Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Region, decreed a 60% sentence reduction for them, with the exception of Sherwani, whose sentence was cut by 50%.
Currently, both journalists, Sherwan Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, remain incarcerated, while the others have been released.
