4 April 2006

Alert

Cyber-dissident Kamal Sayid Qadir released


Incident details

Kamal Sayid Qadir

web dissident(s)

released

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(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders welcomed the release on 3 April 2006 of jurist Kamal Sayid Qadir, an Austrian national of Kurdish origin, arrested on 26 October 2005 for posting "defamatory" articles about the authorities in Kurdistan.

The cyber-dissident had been sentenced to 18 months in prison just a few days earlier. At a first hearing, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on the basis of the same charge.

Welcoming his release, the press freedom organisation said, "We met the Iraqi ambassador in Paris last week and Kamal Sayid Qadir's case was raised. We asked for the urgent release of the cyber-dissident, stressing our concern about the constant adjournments of his case."

Reporters Without Borders also sent an open letter to the UN in Iraq and the Austrian president urging them to intervene on his behalf.

Qadir had been charged with posting articles on a Kurdish website implicating the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massud Barzani, in a corruption case. He was also accused of insulting and defaming the head of state.

"This release shows the determination of the government to support democracy in this region," said a local spokesman, Mohammed Khoshna.

Qadir had been on remand in Erbil prison since 26 October 2005, in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in the north of Iraq. He was sentenced on 19 December 2005, for "defamation of public institutions". In a statement posted on the site http://www.kurdishmedia.com, the jurist accepted that he had made "inappropriate" comments about certain people referred to in his articles.



Source:

Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
 

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More on this case

Kurdish-born Austrian cyber-dissident jailed for 18 months for online "defamation" 27 March 2006 RSF calls for release of imprisoned cyber-dissident Kamal Sayid Qadir, subject to torture and death threats 3 March 2006 Writer Kamal Sayid Qadir transferred to a prison hospital; serious health concerns 22 February 2006 Cyber-dissident still in prison despite release announcement 3 February 2006 CPJ protests 30-year jail term for Kurdish writer on defamation conviction 12 January 2006 Kurdish regional government says 30-year sentence was imposed for defaming public institutions 11 January 2006 Thirty-year prison sentence for criticising Kurdish regional president in Internet articles 5 January 2006 Writer detained for articles critical of Kurdish authorities 14 December 2005

Iraq

Journalist protection law falls short, should be repealed, says CPJ 25 January 2012 Journalist illegally detained, while another is attacked 23 January 2012 News media torched, journalists attacked and arrested in outbreak of violence 5 December 2011 New wave of abuses and intimidation against the media 31 October 2011 Series of new attacks and acts of intimidation against journalists 21 October 2011 See all alerts: Iraq


 
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