ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A Kurdish journalist has been held in solitary confinement and beaten by Sulaimani’s local security (Asayish) forces, a family member told The New Region nearly a week after he was arrested along with three colleagues in a late night raid on their houses.

In the late hours of February 28, Asayish forces arrived at the houses of Bashdar Bazyani, Dana Salih, Nabaz Sheikhani, and Sardasht Hama Salih.

The four, led by Bazyani, had recently established a media outlet by the name of Media 21. For years, they had been active opposition voices in the Region, delivering the voice of the people, and they had planned to continue on that path in their new media outlet which Bazyani was the Editor-in-Chief of.

The forces arrived at their doors unannounced and showed no arrest warrants, Sardasht, who has since been released on a 500,000 dinars (around $340) bail, told The New Region on Thursday. 

“But when they come to your door and tell you to go with them, you have to go,” he said.

Sardasht was put in the backseat of the Asayish car, where he was handcuffed and taken into custody.

Their cellphones were taken from them and they were taken into questioning.

According to Sardasht, they were questioned about a program they had shot but were yet to release. The program was an interview with a relative of a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)  and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official whose name The New Region is withholding for security reasons.

Sardasht told the investigator that he was just the host of the program.

The four were kept in solitary confinement overnight. All but Bazyani were released on bail the following day after spending over 12 hours in custody.

The New Region understands that Dana Salih, was once again called in for questioning on Wednesday and has been in custody ever since.

Speaking to The New Region on Thursday, a family member of Bazyani called on civil society and authorities in the Kurdistan Region to help release him.

According to the family member, Bazyani was arrested late at night after masked Asayish forces searched his home and took his cellphone and equipment. They later went to Media 21’s office and closed it down.

His family has since tried to meet him, but they have not been permitted to do so.

The family were granted permission to meet him on Thursday, but while they were on their way to the Asayish General Directorate in Sulaimani, they received a call saying that the appointment has been canceled and they will get to meet him on Sunday.

“They said that the investigation is ongoing,” the family member told The New Region.

Unable to meet him, Bazyani’s family have tried to check up on him through relatives they know in the Asayish forces.

“They told us that he has been kept in solitary confinement and has also been beaten while in custody,” the family member said.

“They also told us that they had found evidence on his phone, without specifying to what,” the family member added.

Given no clear reason as to why Bazyani was arrested, his family deny that he was affiliated with any political party or person, and insist that Bazyani was just “a voice of the voiceless.”

Bazyani was previously called in for questioning by the police in early February on a case filed against him by a senior PUK official, but he was released on bail. 

His family say that he was called in for questioning once more by Sulaimani’s Ashti neighborhood police a few days before his arrest.

Speaking to The New Region shortly after his release in early February, Bazyani said that even after his release, he did not know what the charges against him were.

Addressing the case on Thursday, Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy said that they have been following the case since the day the arrests were made.

“Metro has been following the case since the day of the arrests, we are aware of the developments, there are some details that we do not want to be shared from us, because they fall under the authority of the investigation team and the court,” read a statement from Metro.

The Kurdistan Region’s Journalists Syndicate on Thursday said they had briefly seen Bazyani in Asayish custody, who had reassured them of his health.

"We asked him to frankly tell us of the state of his health, food, resting place, and other needs," read a statement from the syndicate. "Generally, he did not have a specific complaint about his place and daily necessities."

The arrests were slammed by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Monday.

“Authorities’ arrest of four journalists and the forced closure of Media21’s office is a direct attack on press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan,” CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said in the statement. “Authorities must immediately release journalist Bashdar Bazyani, drop charges against all four journalists, and allow the outlet to resume operations.” 

The CPJ, citing two sources, said that security forces had closed down Media 21’s office in Sulaimani on March 1, “saying it lacked a license, confiscated several computers, and ordered staff not to return to work.”

The New Region has reached out to a number of foreign diplomatic missions for comment on the matter, but has not received an official statement at the time of publication.