°®Âþµº

Amjad Yusuf Rekani, aÌýhuman rights activist from the Shiladze area of the Duhok province in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq,ÌýisÌýin "very bad health" after over 20 days of aÌýhunger strike to protest his arrest and torture by Kurdish security forces,Ìý hisÌýfamily saidÌýin a statement to the press on Monday. ÌýÌý

Four other detainees joined Rekani's hunger strike this past Sunday, also to protest their arrest and ill-treatment by the security forces. AllÌýfive detainees are activists who have been held without trial since late 2020.

"Since our abduction by the [Kurdish]Ìýsecurity forces, we have been severely tortured and theyÌýforced us to confess some alleged crimes. They have videotapedÌýour false confessions and plan to release them to the public,"Ìýreads a statement by the detainees that was shared with their families, who in turnÌýsent a copy toÌý°®Âþµº.

"The Kurdish authorities denied us access toÌýour lawyers, and during interrogation, they changed our testimonyÌýand forcedÌýus to sign unknown confessions," the statement added.ÌýÌý

Both the detainees and their families urgedÌýthe United Nations offices in Iraq,ÌýlocalÌýand international media as well as various humanÌýrights organisations, Kurdish lawmakers and the people of Kurdistan to "urgently"Ìýspotlight the case and pressure the authorities to allow the detainees access toÌýtheir lawyersÌýand set a final date forÌýtheir trials.ÌýÌý

"Prisoners from Shiladz are in very bad health conditions.ÌýSome of them are suffering from skin diseases and other wounds. One of the prisoners started a hunger strike 20 days ago, and the rest since Sunday.ÌýTheyÌývowed to not end it until theyÌýdie or areÌýfree. They have committed no crimes, other than having different views and participating in non-violentÌýdemonstrations.ÌýIf there were the ruleÌýof law in this region, they should beÌýfreed,"Ìýpart ofÌýtheÌýstatement read.Ìý

Since early 2019, security forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have detained hundreds of protestors, activists and journalists across the region, following against poor services, unpaid salaries, the existence of Turkish military bases as well as airstrikes against civilians in the region.Ìý

In June 2020, residents ofÌýthe Shiladze area of Duhok province took to the streets to Turkey's airstrikes which claimed the lives of several locals from the area. The five detainees were arrested in December of thatÌýsame year.

While a few of the detainees were sentenced over charges of "endangering national security", severalÌýother detainees still awaitÌýtrial amid indifference by the Kurdish executive and legislative authorities.Ìý

"We are aware of the case of Shiladze prisoners.ÌýThere is no evidenceÌýagainst the five men and they have been held without trial since their detention. We are very concernedÌýabout their conditions in jail.ÌýThey have been tortured as per the testimony of their families to our organization,"ÌýKamaran Othman, a member of the Community Peacemaker Teams - Iraqi Kurdistan (CPT), an NGO monitoring human rights abuses in the Kurdistan region and Iraq,Ìýtold °®ÂþµºÌýduring in a phone call.ÌýÌý

"The five men are now heldÌýat Erbil's General Security, and they were allowedÌýto see their families after three months of detention. All those people who were arrested [during that period] are prisoners of conscience and the cases against them are politically motivated," Othman added.Ìý

°®Âþµº contacted Tariq Nuri, the spokesperson for Erbil Security, and Dindar Zebari, KRG's coordinator for international advocacy, but both were unavailable to comment.Ìý

On her part, Shadi Nawzad, a Kurdish member of the human rights committee in the Kurdistan region's parliament, told °®Âþµº, "It is true that in the Kurdistan region we have the issue of prolonged detentions without due trials."

"As per Shiladze prisoners, it is also a question for me why they have been held without trial. I have tried hard, and our committee also tried to know about this case, but the executive authorities are not responding to us," Nawzad added.ÌýÌý ÌýÌý