Alliance Network 19 calls for the immediate release of the detainees and the suspension of legal proceedings against Khanaqin activists and respect the right of citizens to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution and international documents.

A peaceful demonstration was scheduled to be held in Khanaqin city on August 31st, one of the separatist areas outside the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), against the policy of Arabization but the organizers of the demonstration announced the morning of said day that they have canceled the demonstration to an unknown time.

According to information Network 19 obtained from several sources who did not want to be named, arrest warrants have been issued for 13 people, but some citizens have been arrested, which is surprising, such as the citizen who translated the sign on his shop from Arabic into Kurdish.

The violation of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution led the organizers of the demonstration in several separate statements calling on the four Iraqi presidencies and Kurdish representatives in Baghdad to meet the legitimate demands of the people as soon as possible.

Alliance Network 19 calls for the immediate release of the detainees and the suspension of legal proceedings against Khanaqin activists and respect the right of citizens to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution and international documents.

Network 19, established by a group of human rights organizations and supervised by Metro Center, upholds the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments on rights and freedoms, especially Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.