Peregraf — Lahur Sheikh Jangi announced that he and his brother, Polad Sheikh Jangi, have begun a hunger strike, saying they have been held for eight months in what he described as unjust imprisonment.
In a message published on his official page, Sheikh Jangi said the two brothers decided to start the hunger strike after waiting for months for their case to move through the legal process.
"For eight months, we have been unjustly imprisoned, contrary to all institutional and legal norms," he said.
Sheikh Jangi accused Bafel Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), of interfering in the judicial process and preventing the case from reaching the Court of Cassation.
He claimed that pressure on the courts and institutions was blocking legal procedures, adding that the hunger strike would continue "until we achieve the rule of law in our case."
"To expose your scenarios, we are once again ready to risk our lives so that everyone knows you have left no role for the courts and institutions of Sulaymaniyah," he added.
In January 2026, the Sulaymaniyah Criminal Court suspended proceedings in the trial of Sheikh Jangi and referred the full case file to the Court of Cassation in Erbil, following a petition from his defense team.
Burhan Rashid Gulla, head of Sheikh Jangi's defense team, confirmed that the request for intervention by the Court of Cassation was submitted by the defense.
The case dates back to August 22, 2025, when violent clashes erupted in Sulaymaniyah after security forces attempted to execute an arrest warrant against Sheikh Jangi at the Lalezar Hotel, his residence and political headquarters.
Forces from the Asayish (General Security), Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG), and Commando units surrounded the area, leading to armed resistance from Sheikh Jangi's loyalists, known as the Scorpion Force.
The confrontation involved heavy gunfire and explosions lasting more than three hours, leaving at least four people dead, dozens wounded, and more than 100 people detained.
Sheikh Jangi, a former co-president of the PUK who later founded the People's Front (Baray Gal) following his removal from the party in 2021, was eventually arrested along with his brother Polad and several senior aides.
The case remains one of the most closely watched political and legal disputes in the Kurdistan Region.