Peregraf — The University of Sulaymaniyah has formally referred the case of Abdul Latif Ahmed Mustafa, widely known as Abdul Latif Salafi, to the Public Prosecutor, requesting legal proceedings following the completion of an internal investigation into controversial audio recordings allegedly involving a female student.
In an official letter, the president of the university said the decision followed the conclusion of the investigation and its approval by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
“Following the completion of the investigation and its approval by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and due to the presence of a criminal element within a public office, we request that your honorable office take legal action against the aforementioned individual,” the letter stated.
The university said it had submitted all preliminary case files to the Public Prosecutor, including materials collected during the investigation into the authenticity of the audio recordings allegedly involving Salafi.
The referral comes days after the KRG Ministry of Higher Education permanently dismissed Salafi from his position as a lecturer at the College of Islamic Sciences at the University of Sulaymaniyah.
In a ministerial order issued on July 1, Higher Education Minister Aram Mohammad Qadir approved Salafi’s dismissal based on the findings of a university investigation committee that conducted its work under the supervision of a representative of the Public Prosecution.
The controversy began on June 18, when audio recordings allegedly capturing conversations between Salafi and a female student circulated widely on social media, prompting the University of Sulaymaniyah to establish a high-level investigation committee.
Salafi has consistently denied the allegations, saying the voice in the recordings is not his and describing the audio as fabricated. The individual who released the recordings has maintained that they are authentic.
The case is not the first involving the prominent Salafi preacher. In 2016, the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Higher Education temporarily suspended him from teaching after similar recordings allegedly involving conversations with a female student surfaced.
The referral to the Public Prosecutor marks the first step toward possible criminal proceedings following the completion of the university’s administrative investigation.