“On November 17, the trial of Morteza Haghbayan, a cyber activist from Sanandaj and the director of the “Amak” telegram channel, was held at Branch 104 of the Shahid Beheshti Judicial Complex in Sanandaj”, a reliable source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
The media activist was charged with “disclosing government documents” and “slandering and spreading lies” through the publication of articles on the “Amak” telegram channel.
Morteza Haghbayan was arrested by intelligence agents in Sanandaj on September 24, 2019, and spent about two months in solitary confinement in the detention centre before being temporarily released on a 200 million Tomans bail until his trial.
The trial of the cyber activist took place at Branch 104 of Sanandaj Criminal Court. At the end of the trial, he was physically assaulted and beaten by Alireza Mohammadyar, the lawyer of one of the plaintiffs and a former Sanandaj judge. Moreover, a report on his corruption was published on the Amak telegram channel.
The “Amak” telegram channel published reports about the economic and administrative corruption of government institutions in Kurdistan Province. Following the complaints of a number of people whose names and job positions were mentioned in these reports, this telegram channel was banned by the order of the Public Prosecutor and the Kurdistan Revolution and its director, Morteza Haghubian, was arrested.
