Public prosecutor accuses NRT owner of inciting violence as riots enter second day in Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Protests turned to riots as demonstrations across different provinces of the Kurdistan Region entered their second day, with government and political parties offices being set on fire again.

The protests began on Monday in the Sulaimani and Halabja provinces where thousands of people poured into the streets and called for salary delays and lack of public services to be addressed, as well as the implementation of reforms in the government.

Protestors took to the streets in Sulaimani, Halabja, Rania, Chamchamal, Seyid Sadiq, Piramagroon, Qaladize, Taq Taq, Kalar, and Rawanduz, where riots erupted, and government and the political parties were targeted.

On Tuesday, the protests continued in Sulaimani, Halabja, Penjwen, Koya, Rania, and Kifri.

In Koya, protestors attacked and set on fire the offices of the Mayor, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), and Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU).

On Monday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) called on people to avoid uncivilized and violent action while protesting.

The acting Public Prosecutor, Jawad Fatah Agha, called on a Sulaimani court to hold Shaswar Abdulwahid, the owner of the Sulaimani-based television channel of NRT, accountable to Iraqi laws against the incitement of violence.

The formal complaint, for which Kurdistan 24 obtained a copy, accuses Abdulwahid, who is currently abroad, of ‘encouraging people’ through NRT TV to protest and call for the toppling of the government. The instigation of public disorder on-air resulted in the burning the government offices, major property damages, and the closure of roads by protestors.

Police fired smoke grenades into the crowd in attempts to deter agitators who were throwing stones at security forces.

Light injuries have been reported from both sides, but the number of casualties remains unknown as the protests are ongoing.

The Kurdistan Region has been going through a financial crisis since the start of 2014.

KRG officials link the crisis to the dramatic global drop in oil prices, the arrival of 1.8 million refugees and displaced people to the Region, Baghdad cutting Kurdistan’s budget share, and the war against the Islamic State (IS).

The attack and takeover of oil-rich Kirkuk Province and other disputed territories by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias also adversely affected the KRG’s oil exports, reducing its output by half, according to the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani.

The government largely depends on oil revenue—which makes up over 90 percent of the Kurdistan Region’s income—to cover expenditures, government employees’ salary, and public services.

Editing by Nadia Riva