Iraq’s judiciary orders dissolution of three parties over alleged PKK links

NEWSROOM — Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced on Monday the dissolution of three political parties over alleged affiliations with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The affected parties are the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party, the Democratic Struggle Front, and the Kurdistan Freedom Movement. The council also ordered the closure of their offices and the confiscation of assets. This decision, however, is open to appeal.

The ruling, issued by the council’s Electoral Judicial Authority, follows a complaint from the National Security Advisor’s office citing the parties’ links to the PKK. The PKK, a Kurdish militant group, has been engaged in a longstanding conflict with Turkey over Kurdish rights since the 1980s.

On March 14, following discussions between Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein, Iraq declared the PKK a banned organization, though it stopped short of labeling it a terrorist group.

These parties have only been licensed by the Iraqi Federal Government; the Kurdistan Regional Government has consistently denied them permission to operate in the Kurdistan Region.

The dissolution is grounded in the Political Parties Law No. 36 of 2015, specifically Article 25 (Sections 1 and 3), which prohibits political parties from maintaining organizational or financial ties with foreign entities or being influenced by foreign directives.

This decision coincides with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad and Erbil in mid-April, marking his first trip to Iraq since 2011. The visit focused primarily on security issues, underscoring the ongoing regional tensions.