Deputy Speaker Hawrami calls sentence against former head of Kirkuk Provincial Council 'unlawful'

Deputy Speaker Hawrami expressed his concern about the court's decision, which he said was politicized and unlawful.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/06/05 22:01

Kurdistan Parliament Deputy Speaker Dr. Hemin Hawrami met with Rebwar Talabani, the former head of Kirkuk Provincial Council, on Sunday, June 5, 2022 (Photo: Kurdistan Parliament)

Kurdistan Rebwar Talabani Hemin Hawrami Kirkuk Provincial Council Kurdistan Parliament

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The Deputy Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, Dr. Hemin Hawrami, met with Rebwar Talabani, the former head of Kirkuk Provincial Council, and Parween Muhammadamin, a current member of the council, on Sunday.

Jiwan Rojbayani, the chair of Parliament's Committee on the Kurdistani Areas outside the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Administrative Area, and his deputy chair Jamal Haruty also attended the meeting.

Deputy Speaker Hawrami called a recent court sentence against Talabani "unlawful" during their meeting.

He was referring to the Kirkuk criminal court's sentencing of the former head of the oil-rich province's provincial council to six years imprisonment in absentia. The court made the decision on May 17. However, it was first made public on May 31.

Deputy Speaker Hawrami expressed his concern about the court's decision, which he said was politicized and unlawful.

He also promised that he and the parliament will support Talabani "to help appeal or cancel the decision."

"We will ask Parliament's Legislative Committee and legal advisers to be in contact with the relevant Iraqi parties to deal with this case, which is completely politicized," Dr. Hawrami said, according to the Kurdistan Parliament website.

He expressed his full support for the steps taken by Parliament's Committee on the Kurdistani Areas outside the KRG Administrative Area to deal with the issue.

The committee held a separate meeting with Talabani and Muhammadamin earlier the same day to discuss the decision.

Rebwar Talabani earlier told Kurdistan 24 that the sentence was "politically motivated."

As head of Kirkuk's provincial council, Talabani chaired a session in 2017 in which the majority of members voted to fly the Kurdistan Region flag alongside the Iraqi one across the province. Both flags are recognized under the Iraqi constitution.

Talabani has also been critical of the October 2017 offensive against the Peshmerga in Kirkuk and other disputed territories launched by Iranian-backed forces and the Iraqi army less than a month after the Kurdistan Region's Sept. 25, 2017 independence referendum.