Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashidcalled for the repeal of Baath-era laws that continue to discriminate againstFeyli Kurds.
During a memorial marking Feyli Martyrs Day, Rashidemphasized the need for broader justice measures. “The presidency continues tostand with the Feyli Kurdish community in defending their rights,” he said.
The statement follows Prime Minister Mohammed ShiaAl-Sudani’s decision to designate April 2 as the official date to commemorateFeyli Martyrs Day and allocate land for a cemetery honoring victims. However,some members of the Feyli community objected to the date, arguing that April 4is more historically significant, marking the beginning of their forceddisplacement and persecution under Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Feyli Kurds suffered mass displacement, executions, andcitizenship revocations during the Baathist era. According to TareqAl-Mandalawi, the prime minister’s advisor on Feyli affairs, 16,350 victims aredocumented in the Martyrs Foundation’s records—part of an estimated 60,000Feylis executed during Saddam’s rule.
Feyli Kurds are an ethnic minority with historical roots onboth sides of the Zagros Mountains along the Iraq-Iran border. Today, Iraq’sestimated 1.5 million Feylis reside mainly in Baghdad, the eastern provinces ofDiyala, Wasit, Maysan, and Basra, as well as in the Kurdistan Region, accordingto the Minority Rights Group.
In 2010, Iraq’s Supreme Criminal Court recognized the crimescommitted against Feyli Kurds as genocide.