Mass graves, missing thousands: Feyli Kurd families still seek answers

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government is under mounting pressure to deliver justice for Feyli Kurd victims, as a parliamentary advisor unveils a two-pronged initiative to address their plight.

The first approach involves intensifying domestic pressure to ensure greater attention to Feyli Kurd cases, particularly after the recent arrest of former Ba'ath regime members who have confessed to crimes against them. The second approach seeks international intervention through legal complaints filed in Geneva and The Hague.

Fouad Ali Akbar, the Advisor for Feyli Kurds Affairs in the Iraqi Parliament, told Shafaq News, "The number of forcibly disappeared Feyli Kurds stands at approximately 22,000, according to the latest statistics. However, their remains have not been found despite 22 years passing since the fall of the former regime. Many efforts were made in coordination with the Ministry of Human Rights at the time, as well as the Human Rights Commission, but no resolution was reached."

He added, "Following the arrest of several criminals from the former regime who committed grave crimes against the people, one of the detainees was found to be involved in crimes against Feyli Kurds, and legal action has been taken against them."

Akbar criticized the Iraqi government's insufficient efforts regarding Feyli Kurd cases, stating, "There has been a lack of serious follow-up. Therefore, we have decided to apply pressure on the government instead of solely relying on domestic complaints. We have also filed an international complaint in Geneva and The Hague."

He further explained, "The government's capabilities in locating mass graves are limited, as the process requires advanced DNA technology. The existing equipment in the Mass Graves Department of the Martyrs Foundation is inadequate, necessitating international cooperation to locate the remains of our martyrs and compare discovered DNA with their living relatives."

On February 1, a senior security official disclosed details of the confessions made by the "Group of Five"—former Ba'ath regime members—who admitted to hunting, arresting, and executing Feyli Kurds without judicial orders before burying them in unknown locations between the 1970s and 1990s.

The official told Shafaq News, "The Baath regime official responsible for the Feyli Kurd file was General Khairallah Hammadi, who held security positions in northern Iraq and was known as ‘Baath’s Dracula’ for his ruthless torture and killings. He continued persecuting Feyli Kurds even after being assigned as Baghdad’s security director, unlawfully arresting, torturing, and executing them before disposing of their bodies in undisclosed sites."

He further revealed, "Among the victims were members of the Barzani Kurdish community in 1984, as well as Feyli Kurdish prisoners accused of inciting rebellion in 1974. The regime also forcibly displaced Feyli Kurds and confiscated their properties throughout the 1980s."

On January 31, 2025, Iraq’s National Security Agency announced the arrest of five of the most notorious criminals from the former Baath regime. These individuals were involved in the assassination of prominent cleric Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister, as well as the mass execution of thousands of Iraqis. The arrests were carried out under the provisions of the law banning the dissolved Baath Party, with high-level coordination among relevant authorities and the judiciary.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Legal Department and Head of Feyli Kurd Affairs at the Martyrs Foundation, Tariq Al-Mandalawi, announced on February 6 that efforts are underway to finalize the legal documentation of the disappeared Feyli Kurds, whose number is estimated at 22,000.

Al-Mandalawi told Shafaq News, "The foundation has formally contacted the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the missing Feyli Kurd martyrs. This prompted the Prime Minister’s Office to engage the Supreme Judicial Council, resulting in the formation of a specialized court to investigate their fate. Many of them are still listed as alive in civil registry records."

"We have expedited legal procedures to issue death certificates through the specialized court. The Personal Status Court has now officially recognized them as martyrs, granting them legal status under Law No. 2 of 2016 for the Martyrs Foundation."

Al-Mandlawi revealed that "so far, 70 death certificates have been issued."

He urged the families of missing Feyli Kurd martyrs to visit the Legal Department’s Feyli Kurd Affairs Committee at the Martyrs Foundation to complete the necessary procedures.

Statistics indicate that 22,000 Feyli Kurds were forcibly disappeared, most of whom were detained in notorious prisons such as Nuqrat al-Salman, Prison No. 1, the Fifth Branch, and Abu Ghraib. While they are believed to have been buried in mass graves, they remain officially registered as living persons in civil records.

Despite the fall of the Baath regime, the Feyli Kurds have yet to obtain full legal rights. Many who returned to Iraq faced challenges in regaining their Iraqi citizenship or reclaiming their original nationality.

The Baath regime conducted a large-scale campaign in the late 1970s and early 1980s to expel Feyli Kurds, stripping them of Iraqi nationality and confiscating their movable and immovable assets. They were subjected to forced displacement, arrests, and executions under the rule of former presidents Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (1970-1975) and Saddam Hussein (1980).

Historical records indicate that approximately half a million Feyli Kurds were deported to Iran, with at least 15,000 forcibly disappeared—mostly young men—whose remains have never been recovered.

Historians attribute their persecution to their dual ethnic and sectarian identity as Kurdish Shiites.

In 2010, Iraq’s High Criminal Court classified the deportation, forced disappearance, and expropriation of Feyli Kurds as acts of genocide.

On December 8, 2010, the Iraqi government pledged to redress the injustices against the Feyli Kurds, while the Iraqi Parliament formally recognized their forced displacement and disappearance as genocide later that year.