Lalazar trial adjourned a fifth time as defence alleges witnesses were afraid

SULAYMANIYAH — The trial of People’s Front leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi and 11 co-defendants was adjourned again on Thursday without a ruling, its fifth session in the 384 days since the raid, with the defence saying detainees giving evidence appeared frightened and that families have been barred from visiting for a week.

The judge postponed proceedings until next week without fixing a day, said Dana Taqiaddin, spokesperson for the defence team. The court heard three detainees and did not take statements from Sheikh Jangi, his brother Polad or their associate Rebwar Haji Ghali, who the defence expects to be heard at the next session.

“What we observed was that those whose statements were taken showed considerable fear in their speech and movements,” said Arian Burhan, another member of the team. “While they were speaking, we noticed that they kept looking toward the people who had previously interrogated them.”

Taqiaddin told a news conference the defence was dissatisfied with the hearing and alleged the proceedings were following a script. “Some statements had previously been taken from the defendants, and during today’s hearings one defendant changed his statement, which indicates that he had been under pressure,” he said. Relatives have not been allowed to visit the detainees since last Thursday, he said.

Awat Sheikh Jangi, Lahur’s sister, said at a news conference after the hearing that one of the defendants who gave evidence showed signs of having been tortured, and that he answered most questions only yes or no. She called the charges a fabrication and said the family had not been able to speak to her brother.

Six defendants withdrew their earlier statements at last Thursday’s session, telling the judge they had been obtained under torture and pressure, after which the judge questioned them again and recorded new statements.

The 12 are being tried under Article 56 of the penal code, which Taqiaddin described as covering an agreement to commit murder. Twenty-seven people held over the Lalazar events remain in prison. PUK president Bafel Talabani and his brother Qubad Talabani are the complainants, accusing Sheikh Jangi of attempted murder and creating unrest, and neither has attended a hearing.

A first hearing on Jan. 12 saw the judge read the charges before suspending proceedings so the file could go to the Court of Cassation, and Sulaymaniyah security released 17 people held at Lalazar the next day for lack of evidence. The trial opened on May 7 and adjourned the same day, partly because the complainants did not appear and partly over the volume of documents. A session a week later heard one witness. A hearing set for June 3 did not take place.

The case stems from Aug. 22, 2025, when security forces surrounded the Lalazar area of Sulaymaniyah where Sheikh Jangi and associates were staying. He refused to surrender and forces stormed the site after hours of clashes that killed at least five people and wounded more than 20. Three days later, PUK-linked media broadcast a recording in which people described a plan to kill Bafel Talabani and said Sheikh Jangi and security figure Azhi Amin had ordered it. His family and defence team said the recording was scripted to give the operation political and legal cover.