ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Lahur Talabany appeared before a judge at the Sulaimani court on Monday, where a decision was made to transfer his case to Erbil, according to his legal team.
Burhan Rashid Gulla, Lahur Talabany’s lawyer, told Rudaw on Monday that Talabany’s case “has been sent to the Erbil Court of Appeals, where a decision will be made regarding it.”
Gulla said the court session took place in Sulaimani and confirmed that Talabany personally appeared before the judge. He stressed that the transfer only concerns the case file, not Talabany himself. “Mr. Lahur [Talabany] was present before the judge today. Lahur Sheikh Jangi [Talabany] himself will remain in Sulaimani; the decision was only to send his file to Erbil, where it will be reviewed and a ruling will be issued,” the lawyer said.
According to the legal team, the decision to transfer the case was made at the request of Talabany’s lawyers and his family.
Lahur Talabany, the leader of the Kurdish opposition party People’s Front (Baray Gal) and a former co-president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was arrested in late August 2025 following a violent standoff with PUK security forces in Sulaimani.
On the night of August 22, Sulaimani security forces - including Anti-Terrorism (CTG), Asayish, and Commando units - raided the Lalezar Hotel after Talabany refused to surrender. After a three-hour standoff, he, his brother Polad, and several members of his armed group were arrested.