No return to Iraq: UK court grants asylum to protest organizer
Shafaq News/ An Iraqi Kurdish opposition figure has been granted asylum in the United Kingdom after a British judge ruled he would face persecution or possible death if returned to Iraq, UAE-based The National reported on Thursday.
The man, identified as Kodresh, was arrested in 2020 in Al-Sulaymaniyah and held for four days in connection with protests against the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). During his detention, he was subjected to torture, according to court findings cited in the report.
The protests were sparked by widespread dissatisfaction over unemployment, declining wages, and inadequate public services, with demonstrators targeting PUK and government offices. Security forces aligned with the PUK reportedly used force to suppress the unrest.
After his release, Kodresh organized anti-PUK gatherings at a billiard hall owned by his family, where he urged people not to vote for the party in upcoming elections. The hall was later targeted in a shooting incident, and he received threats by phone.
He left Iraq for London in September 2021 but continued to publish critical content online and participate in demonstrations against authorities in the Kurdistan Region.
An initial request for asylum was denied on the grounds that he was not considered a prominent critic of the PUK. Kodresh appealed the decision, arguing that the ruling misapplied the UK government’s Country Policy and Information Notes (CPIN) on Iraq’s political climate.
The appeal was upheld, with the judge concluding that individuals with a history of organizing or participating in protests were “more likely to face arrest, detention, assault, excessive use of force, and extrajudicial killing” by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Kodresh’s case, the judge said, fell within that risk profile.
