ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Srwa Abdulwahid, sister of New Generation Movement (NGM) leader Shaswar Abdulwahid and a member of the Iraqi parliament, said Saturday that her brother’s health has deteriorated in prison in Sulaimani.

She wrote on X that she had received “disturbing information” about his condition, accusing the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of “violating the law” by preventing family and colleagues from visiting him calling the detention “politically motivated” and warning that the public would not remain silent.

Abdulwahid was arrested by security forces at his residence in Sulaimani on August 12. His party initially accused Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-affiliated forces of the arrest, but Sulaimani Police later confirmed that the NGM leader was arrested by their forces.

A judicial decree dated August 3, seen by The New Region, states that Abdulwahid was to be arrested under Article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code and faces a sentence of six months in prison.

Article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code states: “Whoever threatens another with committing a felony against himself or his property, or against the person or property of another, or with attributing or disclosing dishonorable matters in cases other than those specified in Article 430, shall be punished by detention.”

The opposition leader’s detention is in relation to a 2019 lawsuit by a former MP of his party, who accused Abdulwahid of threatening to publish explicit images of them.

The Kurdistan Region’s Independent Human Rights Commission said in a statement Wednesday that its chairwoman, Muna Yaqo, led a delegation to the Sulaimani police directorate and met with Abdulwahid. The commission said he was being held under Article 431, had previously been convicted in absentia, and was being treated in line with legal procedures.

It said that the New Generation Movement leader has had no problems in detention, his family was allowed to visit him, and he presented requests and remarks to the delegation.