Iraqi High Tribunal Sentences Former Regime General to Death for Role in 1983 Barzani Genocide

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Iraqi High Criminal Court in Baghdad handed down a death sentence on Sunday to a former senior officer of the Ba’athist regime for his direct involvement in the systematic annihilation of thousands of Barzani men and boys more than four decades ago. The ruling marks a significant judicial development in the decades-long pursuit of accountability for the atrocities committed against the Kurdish population in 1983.

Ayad Kakayee, the defense lawyer representing the victims in the Barzani genocide case, confirmed the verdict in a special statement to Kurdistan24 on Sunday, December 28, 2025.

According to Kakayee, the court issued the capital punishment ruling against Shakir Taha Yahya Ghafoor al-Douri, a former lieutenant general in the Iraqi military structure, after establishing his direct participation in the genocidal campaign.

While the court delivered the maximum penalty for al-Douri, it simultaneously issued a decision to release a second defendant, identified by the lawyer as Lt. Gen. Saadoun Sabri Jamil al-Qaisi, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to link him to the specific crimes against the Barzanis.

Kakayee clarified that the court found that Saadoun Sabri Jamil al-Qaisi, who previously served as the head of the Fifth Branch of the General Security Directorate in Baghdad, oversaw a security division dedicated to monitoring religious parties rather than Kurdish ethnic groups, leading to his acquittal in this specific case.

The legal proceedings, which commenced on Saturday, centered on the events of 1983, when the former Iraqi regime orchestrated the abduction and subsequent execution of approximately 8,000 male members of the Barzani community.

The Iraqi High Criminal Court has previously recognized these actions as constituting both genocide and crimes against humanity.

The Judicial Process and Confessions

The trial proceedings began over the weekend under the jurisdiction of the Iraqi High Criminal Court, operating under Articles 12 and 15 of the court’s founding law, which specifically address international crimes including genocide.

Official documents issued by the Presidency of the Rusafa Criminal Court identified the principal defendants as holding the rank of lieutenant general, reflecting the high-level military coordination required to execute the mass disappearances.

Prior to the sentencing, the investigation revealed significant evidentiary breakthroughs. According to court records referenced in preliminary reports, Lt. Gen. Shakir Taha Yahya Ghafoor al-Douri provided a detailed confession during his initial interrogations.

His testimony outlined the specific operational plans and mechanisms utilized by the regime’s security apparatus to arrest, transport, and forcibly disappear the victims. This confession served as a cornerstone of the prosecution's case during the sessions at the Rusafa Criminal Court.

The proceedings were attended by legal teams representing the Barzani families, who were present to monitor the adherence to due process and advocate for the rights of the victims.

The court had prepared a list of thirty-five complainants and eyewitnesses to provide testimony. These individuals, residents of the Barzan, Harir, Soran, Pirmam, Maseef, and Bahrka areas, were summoned as plaintiffs in Case No. 9/J/2025 to describe the systematic removal of their fathers, brothers, and sons by state forces.

Anatomy of a Genocide

The convictions relate to one of the darkest chapters in Iraq’s modern history, often viewed as a precursor to the wider Anfal campaign that targeted the Kurdish population in the late 1980s. The systematic targeting of the Barzani tribe unfolded in phases, characterized by forced displacement followed by mass liquidation.

In the late 1970s, Iraqi authorities initiated the forcible removal of Barzani families from their ancestral lands.

Under the guise of "security measures," these families were relocated to tightly controlled military camps in Diana, Harir, Bahrka, and Goratu, where they were subjected to strict surveillance and effectively isolated from the broader society.

By 1980, the regime expanded this policy, moving additional groups to the Quds and Qadisiya camps in the Qushtapa area to centralize control over the population.

The operation to eliminate the male population was launched in the summer of 1983.

According to Ba’ath-era documents analyzed by the court, a secret operation was authorized in late July and early August involving elite units of the General Security Directorate, supported by the Republican Guard and rapid-response military units. 

The objective was the arrest of all Barzani males over the age of 15.

The execution of this plan occurred in three distinct waves. The first phase began on July 31, 1983, targeting the residents of the Quds and Qadisiya camps in Qushtapa.

Ten days later, on August 10, the operation expanded to the camps in Harir, Diana, Bahrka, and the surrounding areas of Mergasor. Finally, on October 1, 1983, soldiers conducted house-to-house searches to detain any individuals who had managed to evade the initial sweeps.

Documentary Evidence of State Complicity

The court’s decision was supported by archival evidence detailing the bureaucratic machinery behind the killings. One pivotal document, dated March 29, 1989, and marked No. 84, was a piece of internal correspondence sent by the Director of General Security to the Secretariat of the Presidency.

This letter explicitly stated that on August 1, 1983, following directives issued by then-General Security Director Dr. Fadel Barak, all Barzani males above the age of 15 were seized from the Quds and Qadisiya camps.

The document confirmed that the detainees were transported by military trucks to Baghdad. None of the men or boys taken during these operations were ever seen again, and their remains have been discovered in mass graves in southern Iraq in the years following the regime's fall.

Acquittal Based on Jurisdiction

While the death sentence for Shakir Taha Yahya Ghafoor al-Douri reflected the court's satisfaction with the evidence of his direct role, the release of Saadoun Sabri Jamil al-Qaisi highlighted the tribunal's adherence to jurisdictional and evidentiary boundaries.

Lawyer Ayad Kakayee noted that the defense successfully argued that Shakir’s responsibilities as head of the Fifth Branch of the General Security Directorate were confined to monitoring religious political movements, which the regime viewed as a separate threat from the Kurdish nationalist movements.

The lack of evidence linking his specific unit to the anti-Barzani operations resulted in his release, distinguishing his culpability from that of the military commanders who orchestrated the roundup.

The verdict arrives as the culmination of years of legal efforts by survivors and the Kurdistan Regional Government to bring the perpetrators of the 1983 genocide to justice.

For the families in Barzan and surrounding districts, the judicial recognition of the crimes and the sentencing of a high-ranking commander offer a measure of legal closure regarding the disappearance of nearly 8,000 of their relatives.

This article was updated and new information regarding the court's decision was added; updated on Sunday Dec. 28, 2025, at 12:57 PM.