London -- The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN is seriously concerned about the detention and welfare of writer Kamal Sayid Qadir, an Iraqi Kurd with Austrian citizenship who has been detained incommunicado in Iraqi Kurdistan since 26 October 2005. He is believed to be held for articles critical of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) authorities, including KDP leader Mas'ud Barzani. International PEN is alarmed at reports that Dr. Qadir has been ill-treated in detention, and is in very poor health.

According to PEN's information, writer Kamal Sayid Qadir, aged 48, was arrested on 26 October by members of Parastin, the security intelligence service of the KDP, one of two parties holding power in the Kurdish-dominated region. Dr. Qadir, who now lives in Vienna, was on a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan at the time of his arrest. He was reportedly on his way to a meeting with KDP officials at a hotel in the city of Erbil when he was arrested. KDP intelligence agents are believed to have seized him because of articles that he had published on the Internet in the weeks before he returned to Iraqi Kurdistan. In these articles, he criticized the KDP authorities, including Mas'ud Barzani. Dr Qadir is known for his critical writings about the political leadership of the Kurdish territories of Iraq.

WiPC wrote to Mas'ud Barzani on 9 November, seeking clarification of Kamal Sayid Qadir's whereabouts. The KDP International Relations Bureau in London responded, confirming that Dr. Qadir is being held by the Kurdistan authorities in Erbil and is being investigated for "slander, personal harassment and threats" in connection with the publication of articles considered by the Kurdistan authorities to be provocative and defamatory of "certain prominent elected official politicians". No formal charges are believed to have been brought.

Amnesty International gives the following background information:

"Since 1991, some areas of northern Iraq have been controlled by the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). These Kurdish-controlled areas enjoyed substantial autonomy even while Saddam Hussein was in power, and have continued to do so after the 30 January 2005 elections in Iraq for both the National Assembly and a Kurdish Assembly. PUK Secretary General Jalal Talabani was selected by the National Assembly as President of Iraq on 7 April, and KDP leader Mas'ud Barzani was selected by the Kurdish Assembly as President of the Kurdistan region."

Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), International PEN