ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mala Bakhtiar, a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), returned to Sulaimani on Saturday after receiving treatment at a German hospital for an alleged poisoning that has been blamed on members of his political party. “I am back and will definitely continue. I will be like before. No one should expect me to change my position,” Bakhtiar, a member of the PUK’s Higher Political Council, told reporters in Sulaimani. Last month, Bakhtiar said that al-Khalidi Hospital and Medical Center in Jordan and Vivantes Hospital Group in Germany both confirmed that he has been poisoned with mercury. At the airport on Saturday, he was greeted by a jubilant crowd of supporters carrying flowers and banners, and filming him as he waved from his motorcade. He did not provide much information during a brief press conference, but said he would speak to reporters on Sunday morning at the tomb of the PUK's late leader Jalal Talabani. Bakhtiar has not publicly named anyone he believes to be behind the poisoning, but only blamed “comrades” - a reference to members of his party, which went through a dramatic shakeup this summer. Some have pointed fingers at Lahur Talabany who was expelled from the PUK as its co-chair. Bafel Talabani, co-chair and de facto president of the party, unofficially removed his cousin from the PUK leadership in July and later accused Lahur Talabany of poisoning him, a claim Lahur Talabany denied. Responding to accusations that the poisoning story was fabricated, Bakhtiar said, “No one makes up scenarios with their own lives. This is a great shame.” He said doctors in Amman had told him he had a “short time to live.” Bakhtiar also extended his thanks to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani for helping him to obtain treatment in Amman.
