Shafaq News- Erbil

A court in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for several people, including activists and media figures, accused of insulting God, Islam, and religious symbols, according to a representative of the complainants.

At a press conference, Mohammed Sabah Al-Khayat, representing civil activists and clerics involved in the case, said lawyers and civil-society activists had pursued the complaints, after which security authorities and Interior Ministry officials were instructed to detain those named in the warrants at checkpoints, border crossings, airports, or known residential addresses before referring them to the judiciary.

Al-Khayat described the complaints as concerning what he called the use of ‘freedom of expression’ to insult religious sanctities, arguing that prosecution was necessary to protect civil peace.

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In July, an Erbil court also issued arrest warrants for four people accused of insulting Islam, and security forces detained two of them.