MESOP “CORRUPTION IN KURDISTAN” – THE FAT CATS REACT Kurdish activist’s car set on fire in Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan

27 Nov 2016 – SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— A member of the rights advocacy group for teachers in Sulaimani in Iraqi Kurdistan, Awat Hassan, said on Saturday his car was set ablaze by unknown arsonists in front of his home.A video Hassan posted online appears to show his car after it was set on fire. Hassan has allegedly received death threats against himself and his family members for taking part in recent protests held in opposition to the Kurdistan Region’s current political and economic situation.

“It was about 2:00 a.m., my neighbors woke me up telling me my car had caught fire,” Hassan said in an interview with NRT.Hassan said he has filed a lawsuit at the police station but considered it a hopeless attempt.

A group of unknown gunmen abducted and later released Hassan and another activist in Sulaimani on September 24.Hassan said he managed to escape and avoid abduction by the group.

“I was kidnapped by [men inside] two cars, one a Toyota and the other a taxi, in the Goizha neighborhood and was then dropped off at Goizha Mountain,” the other activist, Adil Hassan, told NRT. Teachers along with public servants have been on strike in the Sulaimani Governorate for more than a month in protest against the proposed salary cuts.Salaries for government workers have been plagued by delays since 2014 and Kurdish authorities have repeatedly said they cannot make payments due to a number of crises affecting the region.