Ex-Garmyan Security Director Faces Arrest Over Complaint by Slain Journalist Kawa Garmyani

Peregraf

An arrest warrant has been issued for Saiwan Ghazi, the former director of the Kalar security forces(Asayish), in connection with a legal complaint filed 14 years ago by the late journalist Kawa Garmyani—nearly two years before his assassination.

Shirin Amin, the widow of Kawa Garmyani, confirmed the development to Peregraf. “After several court hearings and the change of three judges, the accused refused to appear in court, so the new judge handling the case issued an arrest warrant for the former director of security,” she said.

The complaint stems from events in 2011, when Garmyani was covering mass protests in the Kurdistan Region. “During the coverage of the 2011 demonstrations, journalist Kawa Garmyani was targeted several times by the security forces and beaten until his nose was broken,” Amin said.

Garmyani, who served as the editor-in-chief of Rayel magazine and was known for his investigative reporting, was shot and killed in front of his home in the Sarkawtuni neighborhood of Kalar on December 5, 2013. A man named Tawana Khalifa was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, but Garmyani’s family has consistently maintained that a high-ranking official orchestrated the assassination.

The case has long been viewed as emblematic of the threats facing journalists in the region and the slow pace of justice in politically sensitive cases.