By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Sulaimani, Iraq | 11 May 2026

Nearly forty years after the horrors of Anfal scarred Kurdish memory, one of the most feared figures linked to torture and death inside Nugra Salman prison has resurfaced — exposing painful questions about justice, memory, and political silence in post-Saddam Iraq.

Nearly four decades after the wounds of the Anfal campaign were carved into Kurdish collective memory, history completed a grim circle. Ajaj Tikriti — a name synonymous with torture, terror, and death among survivors of Nugra Salman prison — was finally brought before the law.

Two haunting images emerged simultaneously from his arrest. One was the memory of a feared executioner whose presence once crushed prisoners psychologically before they were physically broken. The other was the image of a frail, aging man standing humiliated before justice. Together, the scenes symbolized more than the passage of time; they marked the collapse of a once-feared Ba’athist enforcer and the delayed arrival of accountability.

How Ajaj Tikriti Was Found

Conflicting narratives initially circulated regarding how Iraqi authorities located and arrested Ajaj Tikriti, one of the most infamous figures associated with the Anfal campaign and the horrors of Nugra Salman prison.

But according to new testimony, his downfall began not through intelligence operations or political investigations, but through a personal dispute.

Latif Fatih Faraj, a writer and longtime advocate for Anfal victims, told local media outlet Panjara that Ajaj’s arrest was ultimately linked to a “social problem” involving individuals who had disagreements with him.

According to Faraj, those involved in the dispute provided detailed information about Ajaj’s whereabouts to Iraqi security agencies and to relatives of Anfal victims seeking legal action.

“This social conflict reopened the Nugra Salman case,” Faraj explained, “and eventually led to the arrest of a man who had evaded justice for years.”

Meanwhile, Fazila — one of the survivors of Nugra Salman — said she had separately received information about Ajaj’s location from several Arab residents while visiting the area.

Though the accounts differ in detail, they converge on one striking reality: the information that exposed Ajaj appears to have come from people who had personal disagreements with him, ultimately breaking the silence that had protected him for years.

A Man Long Known — Yet Untouched

Well-informed sources indicate that Ajaj’s whereabouts were not entirely unknown after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003.

Several Kurds reportedly met him personally in the years following the collapse of the Ba’ath state. During those encounters, Ajaj allegedly acknowledged his identity but denied any involvement in the torture, abuse, or killings carried out against Kurdish prisoners in Nugra Salman.

After that period, however, he vanished completely.

For years, no credible information surfaced regarding his location until he was finally rediscovered between April and May 2025, ending one of the longest shadows left behind by the Anfal era.

The Battle Over Public Justice

Ajaj Tikriti’s case has now reignited another politically sensitive debate inside Iraq: should his trial be publicly broadcast?

Legal commentator Nashad Omar argues that Iraqi law clearly supports public proceedings.

Under Article 5 of the Iraqi Constitution, authority derives from the people, while Article 128 states that court judgments are issued in the name of the people. Iraqi criminal procedure law further emphasizes that trials are to be conducted publicly unless a court specifically orders secrecy.

So far, no such secrecy order has been announced.

For many Kurdish observers, the issue is larger than one courtroom. They argue that the crimes associated with Nugra Salman are inseparable from the wider atrocities committed during Saddam Hussein’s rule against Kurds and other Iraqis.

Critics say the Kurdish political leadership once treated these cases as central historical evidence of genocide and state brutality, but now appears reluctant to push for full public exposure of the proceedings.

Others warn that restricting public access to the trial would not only undermine historical accountability, but also violate Iraqi legal standards governing public justice.

As Iraq confronts another ghost from the Ba’ath era, the case of Ajaj Tikriti is becoming more than a criminal prosecution. It is evolving into a test of whether the country is prepared to fully confront the legacy of Anfal — openly, publicly, and without political compromise.

 More than 200 relatives of Kurdish Anfal victims gathered in Baghdad on Thursday to attend the trial of Ajaj Ahmed Hardan al-Tikriti, a former prison commander accused of committing atrocities against Kurdish detainees during the Baath regime’s Anfal campaign in 1988.

Kurdistan24 correspondent Dilan Barzan reported from Baghdad that al-Tikriti was scheduled to appear before the Rusafa Criminal Court at 9:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.

According to the report, the court is expected to issue a final ruling in the case during Thursday’s session, particularly after the defendant reportedly confessed during earlier stages of the investigation to some of the crimes committed against Kurdish Anfal victims.

Since his arrest on July 30 last year, al-Tikriti has appeared multiple times before the Rusafa court for questioning. Thursday’s hearing is widely viewed as the decisive session in the long-running case tied to abuses committed at the notorious Nugra Salman prison in southern Iraq.

Around 221 relatives of Anfal victims from Garmian, Khurmatu, Sulaimani, and Erbil attended the proceedings both inside and outside the courtroom, hoping to witness the sentencing of a man many survivors describe as one of the most brutal figures associated with the prison.

Al-Tikriti, a former military commander at Nugra Salman prison in Muthanna province, became infamous among Kurdish survivors for employing severe torture methods against detainees.

Witness accounts accuse him of leaving prisoners for prolonged periods under the scorching desert sun in Samawah and participating in acts of torture, killings, and forced disappearances.

Iraq’s National Security Service announced his arrest on Aug. 1, 2025, following what officials described as a detailed intelligence operation lasting more than six months. Iraqi authorities said security units in Muthanna province, in coordination with forces in southern Salahaddin province, captured one of the most wanted fugitives from Iraq’s former regime.

In its statement at the time, the agency said al-Tikriti — widely known as the “Butcher of Nugra Salman Prison” — was accused of torture, murder, burying detainees alive, and sexually assaulting female prisoners held at the facility.

The Anfal campaign, carried out by the former Ba'ath regime in 1988, led to the killing and disappearance of tens of thousands of Kurds and is widely recognized as genocide.

Al-Tikriti, whose full name is Ajaj Ahmed Hardan al-Tikriti, belonged to the Albu Nasir tribe and was reportedly among the officials overseeing Nugra Salman prison during the Anfal operations.

Following the collapse of the dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, he fled from Kirkuk to Syria and reportedly settled in the Jaramana area near Damascus, Syria. According to Iraqi security sources, he had three sons, two of whom were members of al-Qaeda and were later killed in clashes near Salahaddin province.

His arrest came 37 years after the crimes he committed during the Anfal campaign against the Kurdish population.

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