ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Erbil court has issued an arrest warrant for a former member of the Iraqi parliament on charges of insulting a public body or official.
The Erbil Investigative Court issued a warrant for Ahmed Haji Rashid, a member of the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) who served in the parliament’s previous term, and sent it to a court in Sulaimani, where Rashid lives, to be carried out. The warrant was issued on June 5 but was only publicly reported on Thursday.
The specific reason for the warrant is unknown, but Rashid has been charged with Article 226 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which stipulates that anyone who insults the government, courts, armed forces, or any other organized body, or public authorities and official institutions, "shall be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding 7 years, or detention or fine."
An official from Komal and friend of Rashid told Rudaw on the condition of anonymity on Friday that he is willing to appear before the judge “if there is a court with no party influence.”
Rashid has been very critical of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and suggested in a recent interview with the pro-Iran al-Ahad TV that thousands of drones confiscated during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in Tehran may have been smuggled into Iran through the Kurdistan Region.
Soran Hussein contributed to this article.
