Lalazar trial to resume Thursday with no verdict expected

SULAYMANIYAH — The trial of People’s Front leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi and his co-defendants resumes on Thursday at Sulaymaniyah Criminal Court No. 2, its fifth session, though the defence does not expect a ruling.

The court notified the team on Sunday, said spokesperson Dana Taqiaddin, who said several legal procedures remain to be completed before any verdict.

At last Thursday’s session, six defendants withdrew their earlier statements, telling the judge they had been obtained under torture and pressure. The judge questioned the six again and recorded new statements. All 12 defendants appeared and the proceedings followed proper legal procedure, Taqiaddin said. Sheikh Jangi and his brother Polad were not among those questioned; their turn had not been reached under the court’s schedule.

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. Neither has attended a hearing. Taqiaddin said their absence and that of their lawyers was legally normal because they did not personally witness the events.

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.