Kurdistan orders arrest of high-profile figures, including PFP Leader
Shafaq News – al-Sulaymaniyah
Authorities placed al-Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, on high alert Thursday evening after an arrest warrant was issued for Lahur Sheikh Jangi, Leader of the Kurdistan People’s Front (PFP), according to local sources.
The sources told Shafaq News that the warrant also included other prominent figures in the city, as security forces deployed in large numbers across intersections and sensitive sites, creating traffic congestion while enforcing “extraordinary measures.”
The reasons behind the warrants remain undisclosed.
Sheikh Jangi, a former co-president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a leading party in the Kurdistan Region, was ousted by Bafel Talabani in July 2021 after an internal feud, a move that marked the end of their joint leadership of the party. He later established the PFP, which won two seats in the 2024 Kurdistan parliamentary elections.
On August 12, authorities arrested Shaswar Abdulwahid, Head of the opposition New Generation Movement (Al-jeel Al-Jadeed), which holds 15 seats in parliament. Shafaq News correspondent noted that a court in al-Sulaymaniyah postponed ruling on his case until August 28 and rejected a request for release on bail.
According to the Metro Center for Journalists’ Rights, the arrest stems from a decision by the al-Sulaymaniyah Misdemeanor Court on August 3, which sentenced Abdulwahid in absentia to six months in prison and a fine of six million dinars (approximately $4,000).
