Families of Anfal Victims Gather in Baghdad for Trial of Notorious Nugra Salman Prison Commander

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — More than 200 relatives of Kurdish Anfal victims gathered in Baghdad on Thursday to attend the trial of Ajaj Ahmed Hardan al-Tikriti, a former prison commander accused of committing atrocities against Kurdish detainees during the Baath regime’s Anfal campaign in 1988.

Kurdistan24 correspondent Dilan Barzan reported from Baghdad that al-Tikriti was scheduled to appear before the Rusafa Criminal Court at 9:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.

According to the report, the court is expected to issue a final ruling in the case during Thursday’s session, particularly after the defendant reportedly confessed during earlier stages of the investigation to some of the crimes committed against Kurdish Anfal victims.

Since his arrest on July 30 last year, al-Tikriti has appeared multiple times before the Rusafa court for questioning. Thursday’s hearing is widely viewed as the decisive session in the long-running case tied to abuses committed at the notorious Nugra Salman prison in southern Iraq.

Around 221 relatives of Anfal victims from Garmian, Khurmatu, Sulaimani, and Erbil attended the proceedings both inside and outside the courtroom, hoping to witness the sentencing of a man many survivors describe as one of the most brutal figures associated with the prison.

Al-Tikriti, a former military commander at Nugra Salman prison in Muthanna province, became infamous among Kurdish survivors for employing severe torture methods against detainees.

Witness accounts accuse him of leaving prisoners for prolonged periods under the scorching desert sun in Samawah and participating in acts of torture, killings, and forced disappearances.

Iraq’s National Security Service announced his arrest on Aug. 1, 2025, following what officials described as a detailed intelligence operation lasting more than six months. Iraqi authorities said security units in Muthanna province, in coordination with forces in southern Salahaddin province, captured one of the most wanted fugitives from Iraq’s former regime.

In its statement at the time, the agency said al-Tikriti — widely known as the “Butcher of Nugra Salman Prison” — was accused of torture, murder, burying detainees alive, and sexually assaulting female prisoners held at the facility.

The Anfal campaign, carried out by the former Ba'ath regime in 1988, led to the killing and disappearance of tens of thousands of Kurds and is widely recognized as genocide.

Al-Tikriti, whose full name is Ajaj Ahmed Hardan al-Tikriti, belonged to the Albu Nasir tribe and was reportedly among the officials overseeing Nugra Salman prison during the Anfal operations.

Following the collapse of the dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, he fled from Kirkuk to Syria and reportedly settled in the Jaramana area near Damascus, Syria. According to Iraqi security sources, he had three sons, two of whom were members of al-Qaeda and were later killed in clashes near Salahaddin province.

His arrest came 37 years after the crimes he committed during the Anfal campaign against the Kurdish population.