Shafaq News/ The Criminal Court in Erbil Governorate decided to release five other "Badinan" detainees, more than a year since their imprisonment.
The five released detainees are Suleiman Kamal Suleiman, Suleiman Musa Ahmad, Firsat Ahmad Saeed, Amer Khaled Akido, and Jamal Khalil Majid.
Defense lawyer Bashdar Abdul Rahman said in a press conference that the release process took place after the court and the judges responded in their trial according to the Iraqi criminal law, and not according to Law No. 1 of 2003 issued by the Parliament of Kurdistan, because the charges against them do not fall within the context of this law.
On Wednesday, the court in Erbil postponed the trial of four other Badinan detainees (Sherwan Taha Amin, Masoud Ali, Karkar Abbas Ali, and Bandour Ayoub Rashid) until further notice.
Moreover, the Court released two of the accused arrested in the Badinan case, Badal Berwari and Omid Broshki.
The judiciary had sentenced five people, including two journalists, to six years in prison, last February, after convicting them of trying to overthrow the government and undermining security.
Those convicted are journalists Sherwan Sherwani and Kohdar Zebari, and activists Shavan Saeed, Ayaz Karam and Hariwan Issa.
The accused were convicted against the backdrop of bloody protests in al-Sulaymaniyah late last year, as angry demonstrators attacked government and party headquarters, set them on fire, and assaulted their staff, causing casualties.
