CHMK. Kurdistan Region: The sentencing of Dr. SHWAN ADAM AIVAS poses a threat to the academic freedoms of university educators and researchers.
The Sulaimani District Court of Appeal upheld the decision to penalize a university lecturer for including Kurdish media headlines in an exam question. The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research emphasized that no crime was committed and defended, “He has not committed a crime, otherwise we would have formed a committee of inquiry at the university.”
On July 10, 2024, the Sulaimani District Court of Appeal unanimously sentenced Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas to three months in prison, with a three-year suspension, for incorporating media headlines into an exam question four years prior. Dr. Aivas, an Assistant Professor at Sulaimani Polytechnic University, who was teaching at Halabja University in the academic year 2020-2021, was convicted of defamation in an exam question by the Sulaimani Court of Appeal.
The confirmation of the sentence occurred despite a letter from Dr. Aram Mohammed, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, asserting Dr. Aivas’ innocence. The Minister stated, “We expressed our support for (Dr. Shwan) that he did not commit a crime, otherwise we would have formed a committee of inquiry because a modern education system must be introduced.”
Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas, the Chairperson of Kurdish Media Watchdog Organization (CHMK.org) and editor-in-chief of DERGAWAN (Gatekeeper) season magazine, holds various significant positions in the media field. On Monday (June 3, 2024), the Second Court of Sulaimani issued a ruling (No. 2534/K/2021) sentencing Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas to three months in prison for creating “media ethics exam questions” at Halabja University. While, Dr. Aivas, an expert in professional media ethics, received a “light imprisonment” penalty under Article 433/A of the Iraqi Penal Code. The court considered factors such as his age, living conditions, lack of criminal record, and the nature of the offense. Due to the belief that he would not reoffend, the court decided to suspend the sentence for three years, on the condition that he behaves appropriately during that period.
