PUK blocks visits to jailed New Generation Leader, says MP
Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah
Shaswar Abdulwahid, Head of the opposition New Generation Movement (Al-jeel Al-Jadeed), is experiencing deteriorating health in prison, an Iraqi lawmaker cautioned on Saturday, accusing the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of unlawfully blocking family visits.
In a post on X, his sister, MP Srwa Abdulwahid, denounced the restrictions as “arbitrary and illegal,” contending they were politically motivated and warning that the public would not stay silent if they persisted.
وصلتنا معلومات مقلقة عن تدهور الحالة الصحية لرئيس حراك الجيل الجديد شاسوار عبدالواحد داخل السجن، في وقتٍ يصر فيه حزب الطالباني على خرق القانون ومنع أهله ورفاقه من زيارته. هذا السلوك تعسفي وغير قانوني ويؤكد أن القضية سياسية بامتياز، ولن يسكت الشارع على هذه الانتهاكات
— Srwa Abdulwahid. سروه عبدالواحد (@srwa_qadir) August 23, 2025
The PUK, a leading party in the Kurdistan Region, has yet to comment on the accusations.
On August 12, authorities arrested Abdulwahid, whose bloc holds 15 seats in the Kurdish Parliament. A court in al-Sulaymaniyah has postponed its ruling on his case until August 28 and rejected a bail request, according to Shafaq News correspondent.
The Metro Center for Journalists’ Rights reported that the arrest stemmed from an in-absentia verdict issued on August 3 by the al-Sulaymaniyah Misdemeanor Court, sentencing him to six months in prison and imposing a six-million-dinar (about $4,000) fine.
