Kurdish journalist released

The regional Kurdish government on Monday released local writer, Kamal Karim, who was handed an 18-month sentence last week for defaming local officials in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region. "Prime Minister, Nechervan Barzani, issued a special pardon for Karim to meet the demands made by local and international intellectuals,” said Mohamed Khoshnaw, spokesman of the regional Kurdish government. “This step proves that the government maintains and supports democracy in this region,” Khoshnaw added. The Austrian dual-national was arrested on 26 October, 2005 in Arbil, some 350 Km north of the capital, Baghdad, for articles appeared in the Kurdistan Post, an independent website devoted to Kurdish and national news. Karim had accused Massoud Barazani, president of regional government and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, of corruption and misuse of office. Since then, Karim faced two trials, the first one was on 19 December, 2005 and lasted only one hour. He was convicted for defamation and sentenced to 30 years in jail. But Karim appealed against the decision. On 26 March, a court in the city of Arbil sentenced him with 18 months in prison. The arrest and the sentence drew worldwide reactions and demands for his immediate release. The Austrian President Heinz Fischer said he raised Karim's case with Barzani, during a conference in Austria on 11 November, 2005. The case was being closely followed by the Austrian foreign ministry and the Association of Kurdistan Journalists. In addition, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had condemned the sentence and demanded the writer's immediate release.