Iraq's Parliament to Interior Ministry: End injustice against Feyli Kurds

Shafaq News – Baghdad

On Wednesday, Deputy Speaker Shakhawan Abdullah urged Iraq’s Interior Ministry to end the injustice against Feyli Kurds by lifting freezes on their civil registry files.

In a statement, Abdullah, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), explained that the request covers records in areas where thousands of Feyli Kurds remain without official documents despite laws entitling them to citizenship. He called on the ministry to restore rights stripped during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Under the former Saddam Hussein regime, tens of thousands of Feyli Kurds in Khanaqin and other Kurdish areas were denaturalized, deported to Iran, and had property seized. Iraq’s High Tribunal later classified the campaign as genocide, but many families still lack valid IDs, blocking access to jobs, healthcare, and property claims.

Feyli Kurds, predominantly Shia and estimated at up to 1.5 million people, now live mostly in Baghdad, Diyala, and Wasit, among other provinces. Rights groups say repeated government pledges have fallen short, leaving families mired in bureaucracy more than 20 years after Saddam’s fall.

Read more: Feyli Kurds: Decades of injustice VS. Iraq’s struggle to reconcile with its past.