Jalal Talabani’s battle against the free press continues. Today, he took the editor of the region’s independent newspaper to court. The editor appeared before a judge appointed by Talabani’s political party. In order to avoid a Kurdish prison, the editor posted one million dinars bail.

The case is full of irony:

  • Talabani is using a Baath Party law to sue and, possibly, close the newspaper.
  • The newspaper is accused of re-printing an article on corruption which criticized the Kurdish leadership for harassing independent press with frivolous lawsuits. Most Kurds—including some ministers in the Kurdistan Regional Government—have criticized the figures given for Talabani and Barzani’s wealth as too low.
  • Talabani and Masud Barzani refuse to allow Iraq’s integrity commission to visit Iraqi Kurdistan to follow up questions raised by documents and testimony.
  • While Talabani tries to jail journalists for raising questions about misappropriation of funds, ordinary Kurds in both Sulaymaniyah and Washington speak in detail about purchases made by Barzani and Talabani family members far above and beyond what an ordinary salary would enable them to make.

While talking about how Iraqi Kurdistan is liberal and democratic, Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government representative and Jalal’s son, should explain if he agrees with his father’s attempts to close down the independent press and possibly jail the editor for the crime of criticism.