Yasser
Al-Hamdani
Iraqi journalist charged with defaming an official after exposing corruption on social media. Subject of an arrest warrant in 2022, he turned himself in, was questioned and bailed in February 2023, and was acquitted in May 2023. He has documented violations in Mosul since 2003 and has received death threats for his work.
- Country
- Iraq
- Role
- Journalist
- Sentence
- Acquitted on 30 May 2023; charges dismissed for insufficient evidence.
- Status
- At liberty
- Sentence
- Acquitted on 30 May 2023; charges dismissed for insufficient evidence.
- Judicial status
- Acquitted
- Name in Arabic
- ياسر الحمداني
- Charges
- Slander and defamation of a government official under Article 433 of the Iraqi Penal Code
The arrest, and what followed.
Background and Work
Yasser Al-Hamdani is a journalist and human rights defender based in northern Iraq. He has documented violations and attacks in Mosul since 2003, covering two decades of armed conflict, occupation, and efforts at reconstruction. He left Mosul during the Islamic State occupation in 2014, and returned as a war correspondent during the military operations to retake the city, when he was injured several times. His reporting centres on corruption, the protection of journalists, and abuses committed during and after the conflict period.
He is a registered member of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and has collaborated with organizations working on the rights and safety of media workers. His public advocacy has made him a target of state agencies and authoritarian political parties.
The Charges
In mid-2022, Yasser Al-Hamdani published reports and gave interviews highlighting administrative and financial corruption in a government agency. On 17 July 2022, security services began investigating and tracking him. He was not summoned or notified of any charges.
On 20 November 2022, the Court of Publishing and Information Cases in Nineveh issued an arrest and investigation warrant under Article 433 of the 1969 Iraqi Penal Code, which addresses slander and defamation. A police officer informed him of the warrant after it was issued. The government agency that filed the complaint refused to recognize his status as a journalist, in apparent violation of Article 10 of the Journalist Protection Law of 2011, which requires that the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate be notified before any journalist is summoned or arrested.
Judicial Harassment and Restrictions
At the time the warrant was issued, Yasser Al-Hamdani was living in Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region, where Nineveh police had no jurisdiction to arrest him. Nevertheless, his name was circulated at all checkpoints. He had been travelling daily between Erbil and Nineveh to report on events in the city; the warrant made that impossible.
The warrant caused him financial difficulty and psychological distress. He delayed turning himself in for fear of prolonged detention and because he could not locate a lawyer with expertise in journalist protection cases. He also believed that additional lawsuits related to his work might be pending.
Legal Proceedings
On 21 February 2023, Yasser Al-Hamdani turned himself in to the Court of Publishing and Information Cases. An investigative judge questioned him and released him on bail of three million Iraqi dinars (approximately 2,064 euros) the same day. His case was then transferred to the Misdemeanor Court in Mosul.
On 30 May 2023, the Misdemeanor Court acquitted him of all charges. The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the alleged crime of slander and defamation under Article 433 of the Iraqi Penal Code.
Pattern of Threats
The prosecution of 2022 and 2023 was not the first attempt to silence Yasser Al-Hamdani. He has faced various forms of targeted harassment over the years, including death threats from state agencies and authoritarian political parties, in retaliation for his work exposing corruption.