ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Jailed Kurdish opposition leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi has gone on a hunger strike after his case was postponed again following months of delay, his sister said on Sunday.

In a statement, Jangi announced that he and his brother had decided “from today to go on hunger strike until we see the rule of law applied to our case,” after eight months of what he described as “unjust imprisonment.”

Jangi, head of the People’s Front opposition party, accused Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani of exerting “pressure” on courts and institutions to prevent his case from being forwarded to the Court of Cassation.

Speaking to The New Region, Awat Sheikh Jangi, Lahur’s sister, recounted how the events unfolded.

According to her, as Jangi and his brother were about to have lunch, a guard informed them that their case had been sent back to security authorities for re-investigation instead of being referred to the Court of Cassation. The two then “threw their food away” and announced they would no longer eat until their case follows its proper legal course.

“Previously, we had been promised by the security authority that within two weeks the case would be transferred to the Court of Cassation,” Jangi’s sister said, “but today they were told that the case has been referred back for investigation.”

She accused the courts and institutions of deliberately delaying the process.

“They are killing time. I have a feeling they are receiving directives from higher authorities,” she said, adding that her brother insists on a fair and timely trial.

Head of Jangi’s legal team, Burhan Rashid Gulla, told The New Region on Sunday that the brothers “have not eaten lunch or dinner.”

He added that the legal team has sent documents to the Court of Cassation eight or nine times since November, stating that Jangi’s file must be “immediately brought to Erbil.” However, “without any judicial justification, the relevant courts in Sulaimani have not sent the files to Erbil.”

Jangi was the co-chair of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the ruling party in Sulaimani province, before establishing the People’s Front.

He was in an August operation by PUK-affiliated forces, for allegedly attempting to assassinate PUK leader Bafel Talabani.

The altercation in Jangi's residence in Sulaimani's Lalezar hotel saw the opposition leader resist the arrest for several hours, with his Scorpion force clashing against the PUK-affiliates forces in a bloody firefight.

According to Jangi’s sister, 39 of the Scorpion fighters remain in prison.

The Lalezar battle killed more than a dozen on Jangi’s side and saw the arrest of multiple others. At least three PUK-affiliated fighters also died in the immediate aftermath of the operation and at least 19 more wounded, before ultimately leading to the arrest of the People’s Front leader and his brother Polat Sheikh Jangi.