Iraqi defense ministry sues Kirkuk Kurdish farmer over insult allegation

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s defense ministry has filed a lawsuit against a Kurdish farmer in Kirkuk, who went viral for being pulled off his tractor, for allegedly insulting the Iraqi army, his lawyer said on Monday.

Farmer Mohammed Amin, who is also the head of the farmers’ defense committee in Kirkuk’s northwestern Sargaran district, was forcefully pulled from his tractor by his scarf during a confrontation with the Iraqi army in mid-February. He was detained and later released on bail.

“The Iraqi defense ministry has officially filed a complaint against Mohammed Amin, claiming that he threw stones at soldiers and insulted the army,” his lawyer, Bashdar Hassan, told Rudaw.

“What is being claimed has no factual or legal basis,” Hassan added.

In February, tensions escalated in Sargaran when Iraqi security forces barred Kurdish farmers from accessing lands previously confiscated under the Baath regime.

Footage filmed by Rudaw showed Iraqi army and anti-riot forces clashing with residents of Shanagha village as they attempted to enter their farmland. In one scene, a security officer is seen trying to forcibly remove Amin from his tractor, pulling him by the scarf.

The farmer has given his statement at the local court and police station and is now awaiting the judge's decision on whether he will be released or remain in detention, according to Hassan.

The soldier who pulled Amin by his scarf also filed a complaint against him. Hassan said that the defense ministry has submitted a separate complaint in addition to the soldier’s.

Following the incident, Amin filed a complaint against the soldier, who was detained for several days before being released.

The crackdown on farmers drew sharp reactions from officials in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, prompting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to task a special committee with probing the incident.

The Kurdistan Region Presidency at the time slammed the Iraqi forces’ crackdown on Kurdish farmers as “completely rejected and unacceptable.”

The Iraqi presidency in mid-February ratified the land restitution law aimed at returning lands confiscated under the Baath regime to their original owners.

The law pertains to 300,000 dunams of land belonging to Kurdish and Turkmen owners in Kirkuk and other disputed areas. The Sargaran sub-district includes 42 villages, five of which are at the center of the dispute.