Adham Osman Ahmad Barzani (Kurdish: ئەدهەم عوسمان ئەحمەد بارزانی; born April 16, 1962) is a Kurdish politician and former member of the Kurdistan Region Parliament.

Adham Barzani
ئەدھەم بارزانی
Adham Barzani
Personal details
Born (1962-04-16) 16 April 1962 (age 62)
Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan
Citizenship Iraq
NationalityKurdish
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
Kurdish Revolutionary Hezbollah (1988-2004)
Kurdistan Democratic Party (2004-2014)
RelationsBarzani family
OccupationFormer member of the Kurdistan Parliament, former leader of the Kurdish Revolutionary Hezbollah

Biography

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He was born on April 16, 1962, to Osman Barzani, the son of Ahmed Barzani. He began his political career establishing the Kurdish Revolutionary Hezbollah in 1988. Like other Iraqi Kurdish parties, the group received funds from Iran against Saddam Hussein. KRH was dissolved in 2004, after which Adham Barzani joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party with the rest of his relatives.[1][2][3] In 2011, tensions between him and the KDP began after he claimed that Masoud Barzani needed reform if he wanted to maintain his credibility.[4] In 2014, he left the KDP and resigned from all his government posts.[3] In March 2015, he expressed his desire to establish a new political movement after criticising Masoud Barzani and the KDP.[5] He criticised the close ties between the KDP and Turkey, and he opposed Turkish presence in Iraqi Kurdistan.[6] He frequently called for the KDP to release detained activists and journalists in the Kurdistan Region.[7] Referring to the Turkish intervention in Iraqi Kurdistan, he stated that "whenever Turkey has occupied a piece of territory, it has never withdrawn from it", and demanded Turkey to keep its conflict with the PKK inside Turkish borders.[8] In May 2021, he sent a letter to the Hamas leadership, in which he expressed his support for them against Israel.[9]

He had ties with Hüseyin Velioğlu, and in 1999 he hosted Velioğlu in the city of Soran, Iraq, for training.[10] In June 2019, he was visited by İshak Sağlam of the Free Cause Party.[11]

He was eventually banned from entering Erbil by the Kurdistan Regional Government.[12] In July 2024, the Erbil Security Directorate of the KDP government issued an arrest warrant for Adham Barzani.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Kurdistan Revolutionary Hizballah Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  2. ^ "Iraqi Political Groups". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  3. ^ a b "Massoud Barzani's cousin Adham Barzani resigns from KDP leading council: Iraqi Kurdistan". ekurd.net. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014.
  4. ^ "Barzani's KDP will lose credibility without reform: Senior KDP official Adham Barzani". ekurd.net. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015.
  5. ^ "Adham Barzani to establish a new political movement in Iraqi Kurdistan". September 28, 2015. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016.
  6. ^ هەواڵەکان, رۆژنیوز-ناوەندی (May 21, 2022). "ئەدهەم بارزانی: بۆردوومانەکانی دەوڵەتی تورک ڕسوا دەکەین -". Archived from the original on July 29, 2024.
  7. ^ "Senior KDP official calls for release of detained journalists, activists". www.rudaw.net. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  8. ^ "Whenever Turkey has occupied a piece of territory, it has never withdrawn from it: Adham Barzani". Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News. 2021-05-30. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  9. ^ "What is happening in Palestine today is a clear violation of the legal rights of this nation". nournews. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024.
  10. ^ "Hizbullah Irak'ta eğitildi". Milliyet (in Turkish). 1999-04-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  11. ^ "HUDA PAR President Sağlam visits Sheikh Ethem Barzani - [İLKHA] Ilke News Agency". ilkha.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "ئەدهەم بارزانی: دوو ساڵە سەرۆکی پارتی ڕێگە نادات بگەڕێمەوە زێدی خۆم - كوردستان". rojnews. June 5, 2024. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024.
  13. ^ "Intra-clan tensions exposed as Erbil issues arrest warrant for former KDP figure". Medya News. 2024-07-16. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-29.