Shaswar Abdulwahid detention extended 12 months

SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan,— The detention of Kurdish opposition leader and media owner Shaswar Abdulwahid has been extended to 12 months, a week after he completed his five-month prison sentence, NRT TV reported.

Abdulwahid, head of the New Generation Movement (NGM) and owner of the Sulaimani-based NRT television network, was initially arrested in mid-August 2025 by security forces in Sulaimani. His detention came roughly three months before regional parliamentary elections, following a court ruling on a case decided earlier that month.

Himdad Shahin, spokesperson for the NGM, said on Monday that Abdulwahid’s health has deteriorated and that he has been transferred to a hospital for medical treatment.

Court records show that on August 3, a judicial panel sentenced Abdulwahid in absentia to six months in prison under Article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code. The law addresses threats against individuals, property, or reputation. After further legal review, the sentence was reduced to five months.

Abdulwahid served the full term, which ended Monday, December 29, 2025. Despite completing the sentence, authorities did not release him and transferred him to prison again. No official explanation has been provided for the extended detention.

The imprisonment of Abdulwahid, also known in Kurdish as Cûłanewey Newey Nwê, attracted widespread attention. Party members and political observers described the case as politically motivated. After several hearings, the court upheld the five-month sentence.

In October, authorities in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region auctioned nearly 60 properties linked to Abdulwahid at the Chavy Land entertainment complex in Sulaimani. Officials said the sale raised more than 91 billion Iraqi dinars, equivalent to approximately 69.5 million U.S. dollars.

Shareholders have criticized Abdulwahid for failing to distribute dividends, noting that returns on a reported $22 million investment since 2011 were minimal. Some investors said they received as little as 80,000 dinars, about 67 dollars, over a ten-year period.