Walid Yunis Ahmad, a Turkomen and father of three children who worked at a radio station, has been detained without charge in the Kurdistan region of Iraq since 2000. He was “disappeared” for three years and tortured. February 6th is the 11th anniversary of his detention.
His case may be familiar: he was included in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights letter writing marathon in December, featured in our report “New Order, Same Abuses: Unlawful Detention and Torture in Iraq ,” and we’ve distributed action postcards on his case at our Regional Conferences last fall.
Recently we learned that Walid Yunis Ahmad has been charged, nearly 11 years after his arrest, for terrorism-related crimes which, implausibly, he is alleged to have committed from his prison cell. His lawyer believes the charges have been fabricated.
Walid Yunis Ahmad now faces the possibility of an unfair trial that could result in the death penalty.
We need your help to flood the Kurdish Regional authorities with Tweets, emails and letters on or around February 6th, urging them to ensure that Walid Yunis Ahmad receives a fair trial, without recourse to the death penalty. Here’s what you can do:
• Send emails and letters to the Kurdish Regional authorities
• Tweet the accounts of the Kurdish Prime Minster, Barhim Salih, at @barhamsalih and the Kurdistan Regional Government Representative in the US, Qubad Talabani, at @qubadjt.