Journalist jailed in Iraq over homosexuality story

Journalist jailed in Iraq over homosexuality story - Yahoo! News document.body.className = ‘js-enabled‘; Skip to navigation » Skip to content » U.S. Australia/Antarctica Journalist jailed in Iraq over homosexuality story Buzz Up IM del.icio.us Yahoo! Bookmarks By YAHYA BARZANJI, Associated Press Writer Yahya Barzanji, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 3, 11:06 am ET Pl Video: Jury deliberates in 'fragging' case Pl Video: Bucks Co. Elementary School Supports Local Troops Pl Video: New death sentence for Chemical Ali

Adel Hussein was sentenced Nov. 24 to six months in jail by a court in Irbil, capital of the Kurdish-ruled region of northern Iraq, according to the Committee To Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders.

"We are astonished to learn that a press case has been tried under the criminal code. What was the point of adopting — and then liberalizing — a press code in the Kurdistan region if people who contribute to the news media are still be tried under more repressive laws," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

The sentence handed down by the Kurdish court was based on an outdated 1969 Iraqi penal code, said Luqman Malazadah, Hussein‘s lawyer. Malazadah told CPJ he has appealed the court decision.

Under the new law, a representative of the region‘s Journalist Syndicate must attend a journalist‘s trial, but Fatih told CPJ no representative attended Hussein‘s trial.

"What was written by the detained journalist was a scientific article and it was not aimed at encouraging homosexuality," said Kamal Raouf, editor of Hawlati. "The article showed the positive and the negative aspects of homosexuality, but the court looked into one angle and it considered the subject as unethical."

The Kurdistan Journalist Union condemned the verdict.

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