Rasan Organisation was shut down by a judicial order over rainbow-coloured logo
On 31 May 2023, the Rasan Organisation was forcibly closed by a judicial order. On 16 June 2021, woman human rights defender Tanya Darwish received a call from the police informing her that she, her staff and other ex-employees of Rasan Organisation were under investigation, due to a complaint submitted against them by the Department of Non-Governmental Organisations. They are being accused of ‘spreading hatred with the aim of promoting illegal actions’, a charge which if they were found guilty could lead to a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment.
Rasan Organisation 
is a human rights organisation based in Kurdistan, Iraq, that works on promoting women and LGBTQI+ rights in Iraq, through supporting them with legal, social and psychological support. They also work on raising awareness campaigns.
On 31 May 2023, the Rasan Organisation was forcibly closed by a judicial order. A court of first instance in Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, ordered the closure of the human rights organisation based on Rasan's logo, which featured rainbow colours. The ruling, centred solely on the logo, stated that legal experts had concluded the logo “fully reflects [the organisation's] activities in the field of ‘homosexuality’”. However, no illegal activities were cited in the ruling. Throughout the trial, the human rights organisation was not informed of any concerns regarding its logo.
While the Rasan Organisation has lodged an appeal against the decision, it is prohibited from resuming its human rights work while the appeal is pending.
Prior to its compulsory dissolution, the Rasan Organisation was the only human rights organisation dedicated to supporting and advocating for the LGBTIQ+ community within the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in addition to its work on advancing women’s rights.
The ruling against the human rights organisation stemmed from a complaint filed by parliament member Omar Gulpi in February 2021. The parliament member accused Rasan of “violating public integrity and decency” according to Article 403 of the Iraqi Penal Code.
The shutdown of the Rasan Organisation is an illustration of a broader trend of focused persecution and hostile rhetoric directed at LGBTIQ+ rights defenders, activists, and individuals by the Kurdish authorities, political parties and armed factions in recent years. Throughout Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, there has been a notable increase in the targeting of the LGBTIQ+ community and any related activities within the country since the beginning of 2023, particularly in recent months
On 16 June 2021, woman human rights defender Tanya Darwish received a call from the police informing her that she, her staff and other ex-employees of Rasan Organisation were under investigation, due to a complaint submitted against them by the Department of Non-Governmental Organisations. They are being accused of ‘spreading hatred with the aim of promoting illegal actions’, a charge which if they were found guilty could lead to a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment.
Tanya Darwish is a woman human rights defender, that works on promoting women and LGBTQI+ rights in Iraq. She is the Director of Rasan Organisation, which is a human rights organisation based in Kurdistan, Iraq, that works on promoting women and LGBTQI+ rights in Iraq, through supporting them with legal, social and psychological support. They also work on raising awareness campaigns.
On 16 June 2021, Tanya Darwish, the Director of Rasan Organisation received a call from the police, telling her that she and other staff and ex employees of the organisation are expected at the police station for interrogation, as the police had received a complaint regarding their work with Rasan Organisation from the Department of Non-Governmental Organisation. The Department accused Tanya Darwish and previous employees of ‘spreading hatred with the aim of promoting illegal actions’ according to Article 403 of the Iraqi Penal Code. Rasan’s lawyer advised Tanya and the others not to attend the interrogation as they might be detained. On 17 June 2021, the lawyer asked the police to postpone the interrogation because of Tanya Darwish’s health condition. According to the lawyer, if Tanya Darwish and the ex-employees were found guilty, they could be sentenced to up to two years’ imprisonment.
This is the third time that the staff of Rasan Organisation have received a complaint. In April 2019, a petition with 530 signatures accused the staff of the same charges – ‘spreading hatred with the aim of promoting illegal actions’. In February 2021, a parliament member also submitted a complaint against the organisation’s staff using the same Article of the Iraqi Penal Code.
Woman human rights defender Tanya Darwish has been frequently harassed. She was subjected to an online sexualised defamation campaign, where she was attacked due to her human rights work. Sexualised defamation campaigns are a specific challenge that women human rights defenders are subjected to.
In the last few months, human rights defenders and human rights organisations have been subjected to crackdowns in Iraqi Kurdistan, such as human rights defender Sherwan Sherwani, who was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment as a result of his human rights work.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned regarding the judicial harassment against woman human rights defender Tanya Darwish and previous employees of the organisation. Front Line Defenders believes that this judicial harassment is solely as a result of the legitimate human rights work of Rasan Organisation.
