Erbil court acquits pro-polygamy cleric despite women's protests
An Erbil court acquitted a Kurdish cleric who called Kurdish women "dinosaurs."
A Kurdish court in Erbil acquitted Mullah Mazhar Khorasani, a pro-polygamy cleric, on charges of defamation and insulting women due to a lack of evidence.
Khorasani was in court Jan. 27 and Feb. 6 after 300 women filed a defamation lawsuit against him, accusing him of insulting women. On his TV station, Khorasani called Kurdish women “dinosaurs” and accused them of acting like “tribal chieftains” in their efforts to prevent their husbands from taking on new wives.
“Those who have filed a petition against Khorasani have one month to appeal the court's decision,” Khorasani's lawyers said at a Feb. 6 press conference at the courthouse in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
After his acquittal, Khorasani said he would take his accusers to court for moral and financial compensation if they did not apologize to him and to "God, for denying his words on polygamy."
