Today, at the Bnaslawa Misdemeanor Court, journalist Sherwan Sherwani was sentenced to an additional four years and five months in prison, bringing new concerns to a case that has already drawn significant controversy. The session was marked by tensions and disruptions inside the courtroom.

According to Sherwani’s lawyer, the hearing began at 9:00 a.m. and lasted for more than two hours. At its conclusion, the judge handed down the new sentence.

Following the ruling, Mohammed Abdullah, one of Sherwani’s defense lawyers, told reporters that the sentence was “unjust” and essentially a repetition of previous rulings.

“This sentence of four years and five months is oppressive, and it was already predetermined. They only came to announce it,” Abdullah said. He also explained that during the session, a large force of security personnel in civilian clothes surrounded the court and verbally harassed Sherwani’s family.

This latest decision comes despite an earlier ruling that Sherwani was supposed to be released on September 9. He had already served time under two consolidated cases, but this new file—related to accusations of threatening a counter-terrorism officer—was processed separately. Today’s hearing was the first session in that case, and it resulted in the new sentence.

On August 16, 2025, Sherwani’s lawyer warned: “This new case will block Sherwan Sherwani’s release next month in September.” Abdullah added that the charge was filed by a Zeravani officer, who accused Sherwani of threatening him and his family. Two of the officer’s guards also testified in support of the claim.

He further explained: “The Zeravani officer’s complaint is tied to Article 229 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which concerns assaulting a government employee while performing his duty. The maximum penalty under that article is three years in prison.”

The lawyer also criticized the role of the security forces: “According to the law, protection of reform institutions should be the responsibility of the police, but in Erbil it has been given to the Zeravani.”

He revealed that his team has received information suggesting yet another case may be filed against Sherwani after this one.

Sherwan Sherwani was first arrested in October 2020, along with several other journalists and activists from Badinan. In February 2021, the Erbil Criminal Court sentenced him and four others—Ayaz Karam, Guhdar Mohammed, Hariwan Issa, and Shivan Saeed—to six years in prison each on charges of “undermining national security.”

In February 2022, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani reduced most of the sentences by 60%, except for Sherwani’s, which was reduced by only 50%. According to that presidential decree, Sherwani should have been released in September 2023.

However, before his release date, in July 2023, he was handed another four-year sentence under Articles 298 and 295 of the Iraqi Penal Code. That punishment was later reduced to two years, with his expected release set for September of this year—until the new ruling extended his imprisonment once again.