However worst of all for Saeed was the fact that he did not have a driver’s license – this was an offence that couldn’t be settled with a simple fine. For this, Saeed’s car was confiscated and he was imprisoned, only released after he paid bail of IQD2 million (about US$1,700).
“A few days later, for the first time in my life, I had to stand before a judge – not as a lawyer, as a defendant,” Saeed says. “It was a very painful experience. And I didn’t really have anything to say to the judge. I know the law and I knew I was guilty.”
The lawyer was eventually sentenced to three months imprisonment – although the sentence was suspended provided Saeed did not drive again for three years.
Saeed’s story is hardly unusual. The security forces at checkpoints and additional traffic police in Iraqi Kurdistan often stop drivers from Ninawa and find that they are unlicensed.
In Ninawa, driver licensing has been in disarray ever since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled the regime of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and resulted, not only in violent sectarian conflict, but also widespread bureaucratic disorder.
That is why Ninawa’s traffic officers tend not to ask to see drivers’ licenses. And even if they do ask to see them and the driver has no license, it is rare that this violation would be punished. Unlike those working in the neighbouring states of Iraqi Kurdistan, police officers in Ninawa almost expect local drivers not to be officially licensed.
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