Reactions have intensified over the closure of three Kurdish political parties in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) by Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council. The action has sparked protests from political parties and public figures, who argue the verdict is undemocratic and serves the interests of occupying forces.
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council banned the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party (PADÊ), the Kurdistan Society Freedom Movement (Tevgera Azadî), and the Party of the Democratic Struggle (PTD) under Act No. 32 on 6 August, citing association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) issued a statement on 7 August condemning the closures and asserting the ruling was driven both by pressure from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and under leverage from the Turkish government, who has recently ramped up cross-border operations against PKK strongholds in Iraqi territory.
The KCK called on democratic forces, intellectuals, and civil society in the Kurdistan Region to protest the verdict. They highlighted the timing of the decision, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide by ISIS, condemning the closure of PADÊ as a continuation of the suppression of the Yazidi people’s will and an escalation of tensions.
The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) also issued a statement condemning the closure of the political parties, describing the action as politically motivated and influenced by the Turkish state, and warned Kurdish interests were undermined by the ruling. KNK called on the Iraqi government to immediately reverse the decision, emphasising the legitimacy of the three parties and their critical representative role to the region’s diverse communities.
Faris Shamu, a prominent Yazidi figure from northeast Syria’s Tirbespi, also denounced the Iraqi court’s decision to shut down PADÊ, stating it reflects an agreement between the Turkish government, Baghdad, and the KRG administration to dismantle self-governance in Sinjar (Shengal), the Yazidi’s ancestral home, a disputed region in northern Iraq declared autonomous amid reparations following the 2014 genocide of the ethnic minority.
Shamu stressed that Iraq, as a federal system, should maintain a political space in which all religions and groups can freely participate, rather than engage in political manoeuvring with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He added that self-governance of Sinjar is a testament to the existence of democracy in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Hoshiar Zebari, a member of the KDP’s political office and former Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the Iraqi Central Government’s decision to shut down the three parties as a just and prudent action.
