ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A former Kurdish opposition leader in Sulaimani was released on Sunday, according to his family and lawyer.
Aram Qadir, the former head of the National Alliance party, was arrested in June by security forces in Sulaimani. The circumstances surrounding his release remain unclear.
“We do not know how he was released,” his son, Ahmad Qadir, told Rudaw. “After his lawyer was informed… we went and after administrative procedures, and he was released,” he said.
Qadir’s lawyer, Bakr Hamasdiq, told Rudaw: “I am only aware that he has been released and I spoke with him, but neither his family nor I know how he was released. Generally, it seems it may be on bail, because an immediate release requires a court decision.”
Before his release, Hamasdiq told Rudaw that Qadir had been charged under Article 1 of Law No. 21 of 2003, which relates to espionage. “If the charge is proven against him, he will be imprisoned for 5 to 15 years,” he said.
Regarding the charge, Ahmad said: “When the case was brought before the court, my father rejected the charges and said they were not even worth discussing.”
Qadir previously held senior positions in the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement before becoming head of the National Alliance, a post he resigned from in October 2024.
The National Alliance was founded by former Iraqi president Barham Salih under the name Coalition for Democracy and Justice before he returned to the ranks of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and later became Iraq’s president.