The Yazidi Freedom Movement (TAJÊ) has expressed its support through a letter for the legal action initiated in the United States against the Barzani family, for their alleged involvement in the genocide by ISIS in Sinjar (Shengal), northern Iraq, highlighting the need for accountability and justice.
“The KDP committed a historic crime against our people, betraying them during the 3 August 2014 genocide executed by the enemy of humanity, DAESH (ISIS), with the support of the KDP and the Turkish state,” the letter states.
The Kurdistan Victims Fund has lodged a formal complaint with the US Federal Court against Masrour Barzani and members of the Barzani family for a series of crimes, including the 2014 Yazidi genocide in Sinjar, Iraq. This legal action is supported by the TAJÊ through a letter advocating for the Barzani family’s prosecution for their alleged involvement in the Sinjar genocide.
On 30 January 2024, the complaint detailed accusations against the Barzanis for murder, corruption, abduction, perjury, genocide, human rights violations, torturing an American citizen, drug trafficking, forcibly displacing people and seizing their properties, and developing ties with organisations on America’s terror list. Following this, the American Federal Court granted a 21-day period on 15 February for Masrour Barzani to respond to these allegations, indicating that failure to do so would result in necessary legal procedures.
The TAJÊ’s letter supports the lawsuit against the Barzanis of the Kurdistan Victims Fund, specifically demanding legal accountability for the genocide committed against the Yazidi community in Sinjar.
In the letter, the TAJÊ reflects on the establishment of the Yazidi Freedom Movement following the genocide on 3 August 2014. The letter criticises the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) for its historic betrayal of the Yazidi people during the 2014 genocide, facilitated by ISIS with alleged support from the KDP and the Turkish government. This atrocity led to the deaths of thousands of Yazidis and the abduction of over 7,000 women and children. Although the KDP has claimed that they liberated Sinjar and sacrificed 500 fighters, the TAJÊ and the broader Yazidi community accuse them of abandoning Sinjar without offering any resistance, thus allowing ISIS to take over.
The TAJÊ denounces the KDP’s actions as not only a historic crime against the Yazidi people but also as unethical and contrary to international law, particularly highlighting the KDP’s alleged profiteering from the plight of Yazidi captives and collusion with ISIS and the Turkish state. The TAJÊ expresses readiness to present evidence related to the 2014 genocide to the relevant authorities, emphasising that it is time for justice and calling for the KDP to be tried for its crimes against the Yazidi community.
