Slemani — The defense team representing detained Kurdish politician Lahur Sheikh Jangi and other defendants in the Lalazar case said on Tuesday that their clients are being held as “political hostages,” alleging that partisan interference has stalled judicial proceedings nearly 11 months after their arrest.
In a statement addressed to the Kurdistan Region Presidency, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Kurdistan Judicial Council, and the British and US consulates, the legal team said the case has been diverted from its legal course and has become politically motivated. The lawyers argued that the charges against Lahur Sheikh Jangi, his brother Polad Sheikh Jangi, and their co-defendants are unfounded and were intended to justify the security raid on Lahur Sheikh Jangi’s residence.
The defense team accused the Kurdistan Region’s judiciary of operating under partisan influence, claiming that judicial institutions have been “paralyzed” and are no longer functioning independently. They said they consider the detainees political hostages rather than ordinary criminal defendants.
During a press conference, a member of the defense team alleged that the Kurdistan Region Court of Cassation had issued 12 official requests for the case files, but that the Slemani Court had failed to transfer the documents, effectively delaying the appellate process.
The lawyers warned that if the Kurdistan Region’s courts continue to withhold the case files, they will pursue the matter before the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq in Baghdad.
The defense team also appealed to international diplomatic missions to support judicial independence in the Kurdistan Region, arguing that the prolonged detention and unresolved legal proceedings have negatively affected the detainees. They further claimed that both the judiciary and parliament in the Kurdistan Region have become ineffective due to political interference.
The case stems from a security operation carried out on August 22, 2025, when security forces raided Lahur Sheikh Jangi’s residence and the Lalazar Hotel in Sulaymaniyah’s Qalyasan neighborhood. Following several hours of confrontation, Lahur Sheikh Jangi, Polad Sheikh Jangi, and dozens of members of their security detail were arrested and have remained in custody since.
Officials from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, including Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, have previously stated that the August 2025 operation followed allegations that Lahur Sheikh Jangi and members of his force were planning to assassinate Bafel Talabani. Lahur Sheikh Jangi and his supporters have consistently rejected those allegations, describing the case as politically motivated.
