By Shamal Aqrawi
26 March 2006
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – A Kurdish writer was sentenced to 1-1/2 years in prison on Sunday for defaming Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, in a case that has raised questions about the freedom of the press in post-war Iraq.
Kamal Karim, an Iraqi-born Kurd with Austrian citizenship, was originally sentenced to 30 years in jail for defaming Barzani but was retried.
“I swear by God I am not guilty. I am not satisfied with this verdict. I am a victim,” Karim said after the sentence was pronounced.
The judge said the court had been lenient.
“This sentence is fair and it is proportionate to the charges against him,” Faridoun Abdullah told Reuters.
“We helped him. We took into consideration that he is an academic and has served in the education field. So we sentenced him to a year and a half. Otherwise we would have sentenced him to five years.”
Does that mean Hawez Hawezi is lucky he’s also a high school teacher? Ah, democracy.