Arrest warrants for Lahur Sheikh Jangi and Azhi Amin published following Friday’s deadly clashes

SULAYMANIYAH — Security forces in Sulaymaniyah on Wednesday published the arrest warrant issued for People’s Front leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi, who was detained Friday morning after hours of clashes in Sulaymaniyah.

The Sulaymaniyah Security Investigation Court issued the warrant on Aug. 21, charging Lahur Sheikh Jangi under Article 56 of Iraq’s Penal Code, which covers criminal conspiracy and inciting unrest. Security forces surrounded his Lalazar residence the following night and arrested him, his brother Polad, and dozens of associates.

PUK-linked media also released a separate order from the same court dated Aug. 23 stating that two warrants had been issued for Azhi Amin. The orders cite Article 56 and Article 406. The latter concerns murder. Amin resides in Erbil.

The warrants were published after the Sulaymaniyah-based Kurdistan Region Security Agency released a 24-minute video of detainees it claims were linked to Lahur Sheikh Jangi. In their “confessions”, they detail an alleged plot to assassinate PUK leader Bafel Talabani and seize his Dabashan residence.

Authorities linked the alleged plot to Sheikh Jangi, his brother Polad, Amin, and military commander Rebwar Hamid Haji Ghali.

Lahur Sheikh Jangi, a cousin of Talabani and former co-chair of the PUK, was removed from the party 2021 and later founded the People’s Front, which won two seats in the 2024 Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.