ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Shaswar Abdulwahid, leader of the Kurdistan Region’s opposition New Generation Movement (NGM), was released on bail on Wednesday, after spending over five months in jail in Sulaimani.

NGM-affiliated media confirmed the opposition leader’s release late Wednesday afternoon. 

His prison sentence was extended until January 12th, coming after his initial scheduled release date of  December 27 was postponed, NGM announced earlier in January.

Andulwahid was arrested on August 12 at his residence in Sulaimani, based on a judicial decree which stated that he was to be arrested under article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code.

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 early September, he was sentenced to five months in prison by a court in Sulaimani. His trial had been postponed three times before the ruling was made.

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

Following his imprisonment, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Finance and Economy announced the seizure of 60 properties under two companies belonging to detained NGM leader Shaswar Abdulwahid, stating they were to be sold in an open auction.

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