Sherwan Sherwani
Sherwan Sherwani is a Kurdish journalist and human rights defender. He is the chief editor of Ashur magazine and an active member of the human rights organisation 17 Shubat. Sherwan Sherwani’s work as a journalist covers human rights issues in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, particularly focusing on corruption issues in the Kurdish government and on prisoners rights in the Asayish prison's – Kurdish security organisation in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The human rights defender regularly participated in peaceful demonstrations to promote the social and political rights in the region.
Iraqi human rights defenders are subjected to assassination, abduction, arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance. Iraq is considered an extremely dangerous country for human rights defenders, particularly with the ubiquity of armed groups who pose additional threats to obstruct their work.
Women human rights defenders have been subjected to smear campaigns on social media due to their participation in protests and have been specifically targeted for abduction and killing, particularly in the southern city of Basra.
Despite the appointment of a new government by the Iraqi Parliament in May 2020 in response to the protests, the administration has failed to protect human rights defenders. Several were assassinated in following months. Peaceful demonstrations continue, with human rights defenders putting their lives at risk to demand real change.
