Asayish (Kurdistan Region)

Asayîş or Asayish (Kurdish for security[1]) is the Kurdish security organization and the primary intelligence agency operating in the Kurdistan region in Iraq. The organization was established in September 1993[2] and has been often referred to as an "intelligence agency",[3] "security force",[3] "security service",[4] "security",[5] "secret service",[6] "secret police",[7] or just "Kurdish police."[3] Asayesh coordinates and shares information with Parastin and Zanyari, the investigative arms and intelligence gatherers operating in the Kurdistan region in Iraq.

Kurdistan Asayish
Encumena Asayîşa Herêma Kurdistanê
Agency overview
Formed1992 (1992)
HeadquartersErbil, Duhok and Sulaymaniyah
Employees+ 100000
Agency executive
  • Esmat Argushi
Parent agencyKurdistan Region Security Council

It acts under the command of the Kurdish National Assembly and the Kurdistan Regional Government.[2]

Its official goals according to the Kurdistan authority are:

The organization has jurisdiction over:

Issues

In 2009 Amnesty International accused Asayesh of abusing human rights, including torture and other ill-treatment, and claimed that the agency was "above the law" in Iraqi Kurdistan.[8] The Kurdistan Regional Government criticized Amnesty by stating:

Most of the information provided in the report chronicles problems we had just after the fall of Saddam, when we were still subject to Saddam-era penal codes...Amnesty had a particular agenda and used dubious information, often very old, to paint an unrealistically harsh picture of the security forces in our Region by bringing up allegations of abuse at a prisons such as Aqra, which have long been closed.

— Kurdistan Regional Government[9]

On June 17, 2019, the Assyrian Policy Institute (API) reported that Asayish authorities in Dohuk detained an Assyrian journalist named Hormuz Mushi without any charges pressed against him. The API alleged that he was being detained due to his reporting of the negligence of Assyrian cultural sites by the Kurdistan Regional Government. The API urged Kurdistan Region authorities to release Mushi.[10] The arrest was also condemned by Assyrian parliamentarian Fareed Yaqoob.[11]

In November 2019, it was reported that Asayish authorities had detained an Assyrian journalist named William Bnyameen Adam for nearly two weeks following a report on his trip to Northern Syria. Adam claimed that they had confiscated his equipment, beaten him, and interrogated him about his reporting.[12][13] An earlier API statement claimed that Adam and his family had previously received death threats from members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party as a result of his criticism of high-ranking Kurdistan Region officials.[14]

See also

References
  1. Miller, Judith (1993-01-03). "Iraq Accused: A Case of Genocide". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  2. Mew
  3. "Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)". Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  4. McNair, James (2006-07-03). "Gary Trotter: My Life In Media". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  5. Mounting social crisis in Kurdish Iraq
  6. Shadid, Anthony; Fainaru, Steve. "Militias Wresting Control Across Iraq's North and South". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  7. "A detour with Kurdish secret police |The Agonist". Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  8. "Iraq: Hope and fear: Human rights in the Kurdistan region of Iraq". Amnesty International. 2009-04-20. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  9. "Statement in response to Amnesty International Report". Kurdistan Regional Government. 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  10. "KRG Intelligence Forces Detain Assyrian Journalist Hormuz Mushi in Dohuk". Jun 20, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  11. "النائب فريد يعقوب : على اسايش دهوك الإفراج الفوري عن الصحفي هرمز موشي وتكريمه لشجاعته في كشف الموقع الأثري الاشوري، واي اذى يصيبه تتحمله قوات الامن". Zowaa (in Arabic). June 19, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  12. "Assyrian journalist detained in Iraq for 13 days after reporting trip to Syria". Committee to Protect Journalists. November 13, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  13. "Updated: Assyrian Journalist Khlapieel Bnyameen Detained by KRG since October 31". November 14, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  14. "Assyrian Activist Faces Death Threats After Criticizing KRG Officials". July 26, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2020.


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