Iraqi lawmaker says fate of tens of thousands of Fayli Kurds remains unknown

BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Iraqi lawmaker from the Fayli Kurdish community said families of those forcibly disappeared have not yet received full justice, highlighting a case in which a woman is seeking the return of her brother's remains or any evidence of his death. Iraqi MP Haydar Abu Tare, speaking in his capacity as a Fayli Kurdish representative, relayed the request during a discussion of the community's long-running disappearances. Tarq al-Mandalawi, director general of the Ministry of Justice's legal affairs department, said more than 22,000 Fayli Kurdish young people between the ages of 16 and 35 were forcibly disappeared under the previous regime. Most of the victims were university students, he said, adding that their families were forcibly displaced to Iran, their assets were seized and their Iraqi citizenship was revoked. Mandalawi said documents show that detainees held in several prisons, including Abu Ghraib, were subjected to chemical experiments before being buried in mass graves in the Samawa area. Legal expert Nureddin Mehdi said Iraq has not yet enacted a specific law on enforced disappearances, leaving such cases to be handled under scattered legislation. Fayli Kurdish citizen Sabah al-Fayli said the families have repeated the question "Where are they?" for years in memory of the 22,000 young people who disappeared.