To,
The United States Consulate General in Erbil,
The Germany Consulate General in Erbil,
The Canadian embassy in Iraq,
The United Kingdom Consulate General in Erbil,
The France Consulate General in Erbil,
The European Union Mission in Erbil,
The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI),
All the Diplomatic Consulate Generals and Diplomatic Missions in Erbil and Baghdad,
RE: A Call for freedom for Sherwan Sherwani
Dear Honourable CGs and Diplomats,
I (Rugash ‘Izzaddin Mahi-al-Din), my four children (Shahin, Shahbaz, Shahzad, and Shalin) hope you a good health, we would like to extend our thanks for listening to our call for freedom of my husband journalist Sherwan Sherwani.
On evening 7 October 2020, a group of unknown gunmen of police and Asayish raided our home. The gunmen frighteningly handcuffed him, appointed a pistol on his head, and he was taken to an unknown place, alas, that’s all happened in front of my children, the eldest is just 12 years. It has been for seven days my husband, the father of my four children, have been abducted, and we do not know where his whereabouts are. My children have been traumatised; they want their father back. It is the fourth time that my husband is taken, and his crime is that he is a free soul and wants freedom and equality for all.
We want Kurdistan to progress. We want journalists to be able to write without fearing intimidation, torture or arrest. This is the fourth time my husband has been arrested. The diplomats in Kurdistan must exert pressure on the Kurdistan Regional Government to stop the arrest, intimidation and violation of journalist rights.
At a time when the entire world, and especially our part of the world, needs tranquillity, love, compassion, solidarity, and freedom more than any time, my family is expressing this horror. This pandemic has brought more woes to our society's crisis. My husband has always fought for his freedom, and he has never traded his freedom for anything, that’s the price he is paying now.
All we have been told is a fabricated shameless accusation by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) accusing my husband of “receiving external funds to create turmoil.” That’s tragi-comic. The people of Kurdistan, and I believe you too, know that how stupid is this fabrication.
I am writing you so that you use your diplomatic pressures on the KRG so that my husband will be safe and free, as well as all the other critical voices in the Kurdistan Region. You have helped the Kurdish people since 1992, and we always appreciate your support. Your support for freedom, democracy and justice will guarantee the future of our country to be prosperous, democratic and stable. I plead you to help me and my children to see our Sherwani free right now. Sherwani has been illegally abducted, his rights have been violated and the case is political in its entirety. We want to meet Sherwan immediately, and we want his release afterwards. We want to be assured that Sherwan has not been tortured, meanwhile, we also want Sherwan's lawyers to meet him. We also reject any confessions that he may make under torture, or without presence of his lawyers.
I have hope that the diplomatic community will pay attention to my letter. I write this in good faith, and the belief that the diplomats in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq will fulfil their duty to promote freedom, peace and stability.
Please help release my husband and allow my children the comfort of their father.
Warm Regards
Rugash ‘Izzaddin Mahi-al-Din
13 October 2020
Erbil