Kurdish court issues arrest warrant against New Generation leader over claims of ‘deception‘
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The investigative court of Sulaimani in the autonomous Kurdistan Region on Sunday issued an arrest warrant for the leader of Naway Nwe (New Generation) Movement, Shaswar Abdulwahid, following complaints by shareholders of a project he owns.
Multiple shareholders of Chavi Land Entertainment, an amusement park in Sulaimani, have protested the leader’s handling of the business and filed complaints against Abdulwahid for failing to pay them any dividends over the past few years.
The arrest warrant is based on Article 456 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which is related to crimes of deception and property rights.
Punishment for the crime can carry a sentence anywhere between three months to five years imprisonment should the person be convicted, according to the Iraqi penal code.
Chavi Land is one of the largest tourist attractions in the Kurdistan Region, built at the foot of the Goizha Mountains over an area of approximately 750,000 square meters in the Sulaimani province
The amusement park project houses roller coaster rides, a telefric, a wax museum, a movie theatre, fountains, restaurants, hotels, social clubs, green spaces, and several cafeterias and fast-food joints.
Over the past few years, many of its shareholders criticized Abdulwahid, stating that in the past seven years, they had only received IQD 80,000 (US $67) for their investments.
They claim that since 2011, they have invested $22 million in the project, but so far have been paid twice: IQD 30,000 ($25) for each $1 million in 2013 and IQD 50,000 ($42) in 2016.
They accuse Abdulwahid, who also owns Nalia Group Company, of failing to compensate them for the following years: 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018.
Earlier in May, a local court in Sulaimani issued an arrest warrant for Abdulwahid who was being accused of “misusing a communication device” to threaten others. He was detained in jail for two weeks before being released on bail.
His arrest came after one of his party’s female lawmaker, Shadi Nawzad, issued a public condemnation against Abdulwahid on April 24. She claimed in a press conference in front of the Kurdistan Parliament that the party leader, using a fake WhatsApp number, threatened to release an alleged sex tape filmed without her consent in a house located in the German Village Complex, a residential complex owned by Abdulwahid himself.
The New Generation, founded in 2018, currently holds four seats in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament and eight in the 111-seat Kurdistan regional parliament.
The party has been facing internal turmoil with two of its lawmakers in Baghdad, who are also members of the party’s leadership council, abandoning New Generation and serving as independents under a new parliamentary bloc.
Three other lawmakers from New Generation, this time in the Kurdistan Parliament, have also raised concerns about the path the party leader is taking.
Senior members and lawmakers of the party have criticized Abdulwahid for bringing his family members into the party structure and “turning it to a business, while ignoring the opinions of other leadership members.”
Editing by Nadia Riva