The editor of a Iraqi Kurdish magazine has been arrested for reprinting an allegedly blasphemous article. Hamin Ary, editor of Kurdish and Arabic monthly publication Chirpa (Al-Hamsah in Arabic) was arrested on 7 May after publishing an article by controversial writer Goran Halmat. Ary was arrested for “offences that violate religious sensibilities”, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The article, entitled “Me and God” was originally posted on Facebook in 2010, and was deemed “offensive to Islam”.
NEWS
Iraq: Kurdish authorities arrest magazine editor
The editor of a Iraqi Kurdish magazine has been arrested for reprinting an allegedly blasphemous article. Hamin Ary, editor of Kurdish and Arabic monthly publication Chirpa (Al-Hamsah in Arabic) was arrested on 7 May after publishing an article by controversial writer Goran Halmat. Ary was arrested for “offences that violate religious sensibilities”, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of three […]
17 May 12
READ MORE
-
The week in free expression: 29 March–4 April 2025
Index rounds up of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days
-
The Kurdish journalists being targeted in Syria
Media workers in the Kurdish-led autonomous region in northern Syria have long suffered attacks by Turkish forces and extremist groups
-
The week in free expression
Index rounds up some of the biggest stories in the global free speech landscape from the past seven days
-
Mother’s Day 2025: Celebrating the women taking on authoritarian regimes
From Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to Laila Soueif, we pay tribute to mothers around the world who are fighting unimaginable battles for free speech and...