Erbil police arrest motorcyclist suspect in sexual harassment case

ERBIL, Iraq — Police in Erbil have detained a man suspected of sexually harassing a woman from a motorcycle, after video footage of the incident circulated on social media, the city's Asayish directorate said. The security agency's crime-fighting unit opened an investigation after the footage was shared online, identifying the suspect by the initials "A. M. A." and obtaining approval from an Erbil Asayish investigating judge before making the arrest. The directorate said the inquiry is continuing. In the same statement, it noted that a similar assault on a young woman in Erbil had been filmed and posted online the previous week, and that the suspect in that case had also been taken into custody. The two arrests come as Erbil authorities face public scrutiny over street-level harassment incidents documented on social media, though the statement did not address any broader pattern. No further details on the suspects or the victims were immediately released.