Court delays Lahur Sheikh Jangi trial at defense’s request

SULAYMANIYAH — A Sulaymaniyah court on Wednesday postponed a hearing in the murder case against People’s Front leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi and others over the 2025 Lalazar standoff at their lawyers’ request, a defense spokesperson told 964media.

Dana Taqiaddin, who speaks for the lawyers representing the Lalazar detainees, said the court had informed the defense Wednesday morning that the hearing was postponed but had not yet set a new date. The defense is waiting for the court to name one, he said.

The lawyers filed the request for a delay on Tuesday and were told the court would answer the next morning, Taqiaddin said. He said he had spoken by phone on Tuesday with Sheikh Jangi, who is held in Sulaymaniyah’s adult reformatory, as the Kurdistan Region calls its prisons.

Sheikh Jangi and several other Lalazar detainees had been due to stand trial Wednesday at Sulaymaniyah Criminal Court No. 2 under Article 406 of the Penal Code, which covers premeditated and other aggravated murder and can carry the death penalty.

The murder case is separate from the conspiracy case in which the same court on Oct. 15 sentenced Sheikh Jangi to five years and three months in prison under Article 56, which punishes taking part in an agreement to commit a felony. His brother Polad Sheikh Jangi received three years and six months and Rebwar Hamid Haji Ghali, a commander associated with him, two years.

Two of the 12 defendants, Omar Sheikha and Keywan Mohammed Abdullah, were acquitted. The other seven received prison terms, two of them 18 months. The defense said it would appeal the verdict to the Kurdistan Region’s Court of Cassation.

Both cases stem from an Aug. 22, 2025, operation at the Lalazar complex in Sulaymaniyah, where forces affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan tried to arrest Sheikh Jangi and his associates. Hours of fighting left at least five people dead and more than 20 wounded.

The complainants are PUK President Bafel Talabani and his brother, Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, who accuse Sheikh Jangi of plotting to kill Bafel Talabani. Sheikh Jangi denied the plot when he gave evidence on Sept. 17. A cousin of Bafel Talabani, he shared the PUK leadership with him until he was removed in 2021 and went on to found the People’s Front.

The conspiracy trial opened on May 7 and was postponed several times before the verdict.