Trial of Lahur Sheikh Jangi postponed on first day after complainants fail to appear

SULAYMANIYAH — The trial of People’s Front leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi, his brother Polad and 10 other defendants opened Thursday at the Sulaymaniyah Court under tight security before being postponed to May 14 after the complainants failed to attend.

A source at the court told 964media the hearing began at 10 a.m. but was delayed due to the absence of the complainants. A member of Sheikh Jangi’s legal team said the postponement was also linked to the large volume of documents in the case, and that the complainants’ statement was read in court in their absence.

PUK President Bafel Talabani and his brother Qubad Talabani are listed as complainants, accusing Sheikh Jangi of attempted murder and creating unrest.

Sheikh Jangi and his brother Polad began a hunger strike on April 20, protesting what he described as political interference in their case and the obstruction of proceedings for eight months. “We have been unjustly imprisoned for eight months, far from all institutional and legal norms,” he said in a statement at the time, accusing Bafel and Qubad Talabani of pressuring courts and institutions to prevent the case from reaching the Court of Cassation.

The case stems from August 22, 2025, when security forces surrounded the Lalazar area in Sulaymaniyah where Sheikh Jangi and associates were staying. After he refused to surrender, forces stormed the area following hours of clashes that killed at least five people and wounded more than 20. He appeared before a judge for the first time on January 12, when the court referred his case to the Erbil Court of Cassation for review — a transfer his lawyer says has still not been completed despite nine formal requests.

Sheikh Jangi was removed from the PUK in 2021 and later founded the People’s Front, which won two seats in the 2024 Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.