Supporters protest in Sulaymaniyah over Lalezar case delay

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — Dozens of supporters of the People's Front Party protested outside the Sulaymaniyah People's Court on Wednesday, calling for a ruling in the Lalezar case, in which party leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi and members of his security team have been held for about a year. Defense team head Birhan Rashid said the case has made no progress for a year. He said the team filed an appeal with the relevant courts in October 2025, but the file had not yet been sent to the Kurdistan Regional Court's Court of Appeal in Erbil. Rashid alleged that courts in Sulaymaniyah were influenced by party decisions and that the file had lost the conditions for reliable investigation and justice. He called for the case to be transferred elsewhere. Awat Sheikh Jangi Talabani, Lahur Sheikh Jangi's brother, asked for his release and said the children, spouses and sick relatives of 27 guards had also been affected. Sheikh Jangi first appeared before a Sulaymaniyah court on January 12, 2026, when his case file was referred to the Court of Appeal in Erbil. The case followed an armed clash on August 22, 2025, near the Lalezar Hotel in Sulaymaniyah between forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by Bervan Talabani and militia forces affiliated with Sheikh Jangi.