Four month sentence cut short
Baghdad court releases journalist Haider Zaki after defamation complaint withdrawn
BAGHDAD – The Karkh Court in Baghdad issued a decision on Tuesday to release journalist Haider Zaki, a judicial source confirmed to 964media.
This decision followed the withdrawal of a complaint by Adnan Darjal, the President of the Iraqi Football Association.
Haider Zaki, a sports journalist and presenter of the “Studio Al-Jamahir” TV program, had been sentenced to four months in prison on May 9 on charges of defamation. The verdict followed a lawsuit filed by Darjal.
Hasan Al-Baydani, producer of “Studio Al-Jamahir” aired on Dijlah TV, told 964media, “Four months ago, Adnan Darjal filed a defamation lawsuit against the program’s host, Haider Zaki, accusing him of damaging his reputation.”
Darjal’s lawsuit stated that Zaki compared him to Uday, son of former dictator Saddam Hussein.
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