Torture of Kaka’i by suspected PMF sparks outcry in Kirkuk 

Erbil (Kurdistan 24) – The torture of a member of the Kaka’i group in Saladin province on Saturday sparked an outcry among the religious minority. 

A group of PMF militants allegedly tortured Ayman ‘Abdin near Saladin’s Amerli district on Saturday. 

Four mask-clad militants forcefully took him into a Toyota pickup truck. They proceeded to beat him and break his nose. They cursed the “Kurds, Peshmerga, and President Masoud Barzani,” ‘Abdin recalled to Kurdistan 24 on Saturday night. 

“They shaved my mustache,” he added. 

The assailants partially shaved his head as well to humiliate him. 

Abdin accused a unit of the PMF from Amerli of being behind the incident. 

Aside from his part-time work at a road-building company, he is also a member of the Peshmerga forces’ 9th Brigade. 

The incident occurred after Abdin argued with one of his co-workers at the company. 

“He cursed at [President] Masoud Barzani and Peshmerga forces multiple times,” he recalled to Kurdistan 24. 

Abdin’s friend taped him cursing back at the PMF. That video was later shared with the paramilitary forces. 

After word of the incident spread, the Kaka’i community in Kirkuk gathered at the house of one of Abdin’s relatives and headed to the governorate building to protest. 

They blocked the main Baghdad-Kirkuk Road for two hours. They let vehicles pass after they were contacted by top religious and political leaders, including the highest Shiite religious authority in Najaf. 

Ethnically Kurdish, the Kaka’i religion contains elements of Zoroastrianism and Shiite Islam. Members of the community are usually secretive about their religion, mainly out of fear of persecution. 

Mustaches are a distinctive feature of male Kaka’i. 

According to Minority Rights Group International, there are an estimated 100,000-200,000 Kaka’i, also known as Ahl-e Haqq or Yarsan, in Iraq.

“We have sacrificed thousands of martyrs for Kirkuk. So, [why would one think] we will not give more for our mustaches?” one Kaka’i was heard loudly declaring.

“It would be much more noble if he was killed rather than his mustache shaved,” Abdin’s uncle told Kurdistan 24 while protesting in front of the governorate building. 

The Kurdistan Region Ministry of Peshmerga and other Iraqi and Kurdish officials condemned the act, vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Additional reporting by Hemin Dalo, Kurdistan 24's correspondent in Kirkuk