Erbil court acquits pro-polygamy cleric despite women's protests
An Erbil court acquitted a Kurdish cleric who called Kurdish women "dinosaurs."
![1084944682 Sky over Irbil On December 2018, A trip inside Kurdistan, between Irbil and Sulaymaniyya: a Country that is not a State. (Photo by Alessandro Annunziato/NurPhoto via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/09/GettyImages-1084944682.jpg/GettyImages-1084944682.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=sE5lEJOB)
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.