Metro Center for Journalists Right and Advocacy on Saturday condemned the detention of 25-year-old Halabja local Bryar Kamal Mohammed, who has been in custody since Wednesday and his family’s request for release on bail has been denied by the court.
The watchdog said that Mohammed’s apprehension sets a “dangerous precedent” and poses a threat to freedom of expression, calling for his immediate release.
Activists and locals were quick to condemn Halabja mayor Nuxsha Nasih, blaming her for the arrest. Nasih denied the allegations.
“I did not file a complaint against him [Mohammed]. The complaint was filed by the joint committees of the mayoral office, because he had made inappropriate comments about them on social media,” the mayor told Rudaw’s Hidayat Jan.
The young man has been allegedly arrested for a Facebook comment in which he criticized authorities in Halabja for slapping a fine on a bakery.
“They cannot speak against anyone, except bakers. If bakeries close for two days, the mayor and her committee will need to go buy bread in another city because they have never baked bread in their lives. We should bring them and make them bake bread to see their situation and mock them,” wrote Mohammed in one comment.
In another comment, he referred to those who made complaints about the bakery in a jargon loosely translated to "scum” adding “they only make committees for bakeries. They are supposed to control the bazaar, but in Halabja they are only there to take pictures.”
The committees claimed that they had fined two bakeries, in accordance with the regulations, for charging high prices during the third day of Eid al-Adha. They accused Mohammed of writing “defamatory” and ”disrespectful” comments, and said that they have filed a complaint against him accordingly.
The United States Department of State in its annual global report on human rights practices for 2023, said that human rights conditions in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have worsened compared to the previous year, citing the imposition of increased restrictions on fundamental freedoms and civic space by both Erbil and Baghdad.
The report noted that both the federal government and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) forces have cracked down on critical voices in the country.
“Security Forces, mostly those under the Ministry of Interior, within the NSS [National Security Service], or from the PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces], in addition to KRG forces (primarily Asayish), arrested and detained protesters and activists critical of the central government and of the KRG,” the report stated.
