Arrest warrant against Kurdish official in Kirkuk repealed

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A court has repealed the arrest warrant issued against me because it lacks legal basis, the Acting Head of Kirkuk Provincial Council (KPC) Rebwar Talabani said on Monday.

In an exclusive interview with Kurdistan 24, Talabani said Kirkuk’s Court of Cassation had repealed the arrest warrant issued against him earlier this week.

According to a document obtained by Kurdistan 24 on Sunday, the Kirkuk Investigation Court ordered an arrest and inquiry against Talabani, under the provision of Iraq’s Code of Criminal Procedure number 331. The article allows for fines or imprisonment for "any public official or agent who willfully commits an act in breach of the duties of his office or refrains from executing the affairs of that office."

“I would like to inform the people of the Kurdistan Region that the arrest warrant against me has been appealed,” Talabani told Kurdistan 24.

The Kurdish official also said the judge who issued the order was seeking “self-popularity,” and that he has taken legal measures against him.

With support from a Turkish agenda, the Turkmen Front has been using Kirkuk’s Integrity Commission Office to file baseless lawsuits against Kurdish officials, Talabani said, calling on the Iraqi government to take a firm stand against foreign interference.

During a press conference in Erbil on Sunday, Talabani denied the accusations and said the charges against him were politically motivated.

Talabani has served as acting head of the KPC since 2014. He was one of the Council’s leading members who actively pushed for all public administrative buildings in Kirkuk to raise the Kurdistan national flag alongside the Iraqi one, a decision approved by a majority vote in March 2017.

He was also a staunch supporter of including Kirkuk in the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum held on Sep. 25.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany