Body of Kurdish man killed in Istanbul repatriated to Kurdistan Region​

NEWSROOM — The body of Hakim Luqman, a Kurdish man who was killed in Istanbul, arrived in the Kurdistan Region today via the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing.

Luqman, a resident of Duhok province in the Kurdistan Region, was reportedly fatally stabbed by a group of 12 Turkish individuals in Istanbul early Sunday morning, allegedly for speaking Kurdish, according to a relative.

A large crowd of Luqman’s relatives, friends, and acquaintances gathered at the Ibrahim Khalil gate, which connects the Kurdistan Region with Turkey, to receive his body.

“The knife that stabbed Hakim has pierced the hearts of five million Kurds,” said Ghassan Imran, a relative of the deceased, speaking to 964media. “Hakim’s murder is a profound and unforgettable sorrow. Accepting such an act is out of the question. A young man has been killed without any reason. If we accept this today, tomorrow it will get worse, and hundreds of our youth will be murdered.”

Imran emphasized that the family would not remain silent and would bring the issue to consulates and the international community to prevent similar incidents from happening again to Kurdish youth.

Marwan Mohammed, a friend and business partner of Hakim for five years, also spoke to 964media. “He had gone to Turkey to buy clothes for his cousin’s engagement party. He was a charitable and hardworking person.”

“On the night of the incident, I received a call saying something had happened to Hakim,” Mohammed added. “I had no idea he was in Turkey; he had initially gone to Dubai to buy cars and then traveled to Turkey. Hakim had no issues. Some Turks insulted him for speaking Kurdish, which he did not accept, leading to the incident.”

Mohammed described Hakim as “a wise and principled person who never hurt anyone and helped hundreds of people.” He noted that Hakim grew up without parents and had raised two sons and five daughters.

The Vice President of Turkey, Cevdet Yılmaz, commented on the killing, denying any link between the incident and Hakim speaking Kurdish. He suggested it was related to a “different dispute” but did not provide further details. “We have no problem with our Kurdish-speaking citizens or any individual. Our issue is with those who become tools for imperialist plots to divide our country,” Yılmaz posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Despite these comments, Luqman’s relatives maintain that he was attacked in Istanbul and stabbed to death for speaking Kurdish.

Anti-Kurdish sentiment has deep historical roots in Turkey, marked by political, social, and cultural repression. This hostility dates back to the early years of the Republic of Turkey and has continued through various government policies aimed at suppressing Kurdish identity and culture.