SULAIMANIYAH: A court in Iraqi Kurdistan extended the detention of opposition leader Shaswar Abdulwahid following his arrest last week.
Abdulwahid heads the New Generation party, which holds 15 of the 100 seats in the autonomous northern region’s parliament.
He was taken into custody on August 12 after receiving a six-month prison sentence handed down in absentia.
The sentence resulted from his repeated failure to attend hearings in a defamation case filed by a former MP.
The opposition leader appeared before a judge on Thursday in a hearing attended by dozens of supporters.
Abdulwahid’s lawyer had sought his release on bail, a request the judge denied.
Court spokesman Salah Hassan said the refusal was due to Abdulwahid’s failure to appear for hearings and questioning.
“This does not give the judge sufficient guarantees for a bail release… which could disrupt future proceedings,“ he told AFP.
Abdulwahid has been arrested several times since he launched the party in 2017.
He was also wounded in an assassination attempt during his political career.
The region’s ruling alliance has been criticised by human rights groups for its intolerance of dissent.
Critics have accused the government of resorting to arbitrary arrests against political opponents.
Abdulwahid’s trial was adjourned until August 28 for further proceedings. – AFP
