ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A court in Sulaimani on Tuesday sentenced Shaswar Abdulwahid, leader of the opposition New Generation Movement (NGM), to five months in prison.

Abdulwahid's trial had been postponed three times before Tuesday's ruling.

Abdulwahid, a former businessman turned opposition leader, was arrested by Sulaimani Police on August 12 under Article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code.

The 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.

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."

In a statement on Tuesday, NGM claimed that the court’s decision was "expected," stressing that the movement will "continue the same path and vision" of Abdulwahid, and that they "will not turn a blind eye on any extremist behavior" from the ruling parties.

The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Finance and Economy on Sunday announced the seizure of 60 properties under two companies belonging to detained NGM leader Shaswar Abdulwahid, which are set to be sold in an open auction.

The seizures come after Abdulwahid's companies had accumulated nearly 92 billion dinars (64.5 million US dollars) in government debt, according to the ministry.