Iraqi Kurdish opposition leader held in custody, as party says the arrest is politically motivated

The judiciary in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region has ordered that Shaswar Abdulwahid, head of the main opposition New Generation Movement (NGM), be held in custody until 24 August pending trial on multiple charges, a court source said.

Abdulwahid, a businessman-turned-politician whose party holds 15 of the 100 seats in the Kurdistan parliament and several in Iraq's national legislature, rose to prominence in 2017 when he campaigned against the Kurdish independence referendum. The Kurdistan Region has been self-governing since 1991 and is recognised as a federal region under Iraq's 2005 constitution.

He was arrested at his home in Sulaimaniyah on Tuesday night under a court warrant, police spokesman Sarkawt Ahmed said.

A judicial source told The New Arab on condition of anonymity that Abdulwahid appeared before the court on threatening charges stemming from a 2019 complaint filed by a former NGM lawmaker. He had an outstanding arrest warrant since 2021 and was recently sentenced in absentia to six months in prison for repeatedly failing to appear in court for hearings. The source said his lawyers could request a new trial and apply for bail.

One of the charges involves an accusation by ex-MP Shadi Nawzad that Abdulwahid defamed her and threatened to leak secretly taken explicit photos. The source stated that the arrest was legally valid but claimed its timing appeared politically motivated, citing the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which controls Sulaimaniyah.

According to court documents seen by TNA and issued on 3 August, Abdulwahid has been sentenced to six months in prison under Article 431 of Iraq's 1969 Penal Code. The article criminalises threats that force someone to carry out or refrain from an action, including threats to commit a felony against a person or their property, to accuse them of dishonourable or disrespectful acts, or to reveal such allegations to others.

Last week, Abdulwahid warned in a video message that his party would take a "different stance" if the Kurdish authorities did not pay delayed salaries to public sector workers and pensioners, signalling possible demonstrations. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a coalition of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the PUK, and the Change Movement, is waiting for the Iraqi federal government to send June salaries next week after it agreed to hand over its oil and local incomes to Baghdad.

NGM lawmakers in both Baghdad and the Kurdistan parliament rejected the official account of the arrest, claiming that Abdulwahid had been "abducted by a PUK force" for political reasons.

Srwa Abdulwahid, the NGM's parliamentary leader in Baghdad and the detainee's sister, alleged on the X social media platform that Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the KRG interior minister Rebar Ahmed instructed KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani to carry out the arrest. She claimed three of the lawsuits against her brother were linked to Barzani and Ahmed, saying the move served their political agenda.

She later alleged that a PUK force had blocked family and friends from visiting him despite a court order. However, Muna Yaku, head of the Kurdistan region's human rights commission, told Rudaw that she has met with Abdulwahid in detention, and that his family members have visited him; his detention conditions and health are satisfactory.

PUK officials were not available for comment. The deputy head of the Sulaimaniyah court, Judge Salah Hassan, said to local media that the sentencing of Shaswar Abdulwahid is purely a legal matter unrelated to politics, explaining that between 2021 and 2025 the defendant was repeatedly summoned to appear before the court and serve his sentence but failed to comply, prompting the court to issue its ruling in absentia, with the state both covering the costs of hiring a lawyer to represent him and acting on its duty to detain him.

The arrest occurred less than three months before Iraq's parliamentary elections, scheduled for 11 November. Some Kurdish social media users alleged it was part of a pre-arranged deal between the PUK and the NGM to boost support for the latter.

Abdulwahid has extensive business interests in Sulaimaniyah, including the Chavy Land amusement park, the German Village real estate development, and multiple media outlets. He faces accusations of failing to pay profit shares to Chavy Land stakeholders and outstanding electricity bills for his projects. Courts in Sulaimaniyah have previously dismissed shareholder lawsuits against him, with critics alleging political interference by the PUK.

Recent opinion polls place the NGM in fourth position among Kurdish parties.

A Kurdish political observer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TNA that Abdulwahid's arrest was unlikely related to any threat of demonstrations. The observer said that over the past ten years, Abdulwahid had failed to mobilise large protests and had never posed a serious challenge to the ruling parties through demonstrations. Instead, he was believed to be seen as close to the two main ruling parties, with numerous legal cases against him for creating fake social media pages and defaming journalists.

The observer questioned why he had not been arrested previously and why he was being targeted now, adding that Abdulwahid appeared to be taking steps to maintain voter support as his party’s popularity waned.