The court’s decision was in response to a request filed by the party and political organization affairs directorate at the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), calling for the dissolution of the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party, The Democratic Struggle Front, and Kurdistan Society's Freedom Movement (Tavgari Azadi) due to their links to the PKK and “conducting banned activities in Iraq.”
The court has ruled on Thursday to dissolve the parties, shut down their offices, and confiscate their finances, according to a document from the Supreme Judicial Council seen by Rudaw English on Monday. The decision was issued in accordance with the provisions of the 2015 Iraqi Party and Political Organizations Law, and is subject to appeal.
The Iraqi National Security Council banned the PKK in March from operating in the country, following a high-level security meeting with a Turkish delegation in Baghdad. The decision came ahead of the visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq.
The General Secretariat of the Iraqi Council of Ministers addressed a letter to all state institutions in July, directing them to attach the term “banned” to any mention of the PKK in official correspondences and documents.
The PKK is an armed group that has struggled for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey for decades. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, which has launched numerous operations against the group and its alleged offshoots in the Kurdistan Region and Syria.
The group has had bases in the mountainous border areas of northern Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for decades. Ankara has carried out hundreds of strikes on alleged PKK positions in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region over the years.
