A court in Iraqi Kurdistan on Thursday extended the detention of opposition leader Shaswar Abdulwahid following his arrest last week, his party said.

Abdulwahid -- who heads the New Generation party, which holds 15 of the 100 seats in the autonomous northern region's parliament -- was taken into custody on August 12.

His detention stemmed from a six-month prison sentence handed down in absentia after he repeatedly failed to attend hearings in a defamation case filed by a former MP, a judicial official said.

The opposition leader appeared before a judge on Thursday in a hearing attended by dozens of supporters, lawmaker Omed Mohammed of the New Generation party told AFP.

Abdulwahid's lawyer had sought his release on bail, a request the judge denied.

Court spokesman Salah Hassan said th

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