In a rare ruling welcomed by Assyrian groups, a court in Northern Iraq has sentenced the perpetrator of the 2025 Akitu attack in Nohadra to life in prison, marking an unusual instance of accountability for violence targeting Assyrians.
The Erbil Criminal Court in Northern Iraq has issued a life imprisonment sentence against Luay Abdul Rahim Ramadan, a Syrian Kurd, after convicting him of carrying out an axe attack on the Assyrian New Year (Akitu) procession on 1 April 2025 in Nohadra (Duhok). The attack left two Assyrians, a woman and a young man, seriously injured.
The attack occurred in broad daylight during official Akitu festivities attended by families and youth, drawing widespread condemnation from Assyrian political parties, civil society groups, and human rights organizations at the time.
Assyrian groups welcomed the sentence, with the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) describing the ruling as “justice served and a clear rejection of terrorism.” Community figures noted that the verdict sends an important signal amid growing concerns over incitement and hate speech targeting Assyrians in the Kurdish-run region.
The ruling remains a rare instance of accountability in the region, where many attacks against Assyrians have historically gone unpunished. Several high-profile cases, including the 1993 assassination of Assyrian politician Francis Shabo, remain unresolved, with perpetrators never brought to justice.
In addition, dozens of court rulings in favor of Assyrian landowners, particularly in cases involving the illegal seizure of Assyrian lands, have yet to be implemented, contributing to deep mistrust in the rule of law among Assyrians.
A 46-year-old Assyrian woman was arrested in Iraq on the evening of Monday, 2 March 2026.
The woman, identified as Rana, lives in the Karrada area of Baghdad. She was reportedly taken into custody on Monday night, accused of celebrating the death of the leader of Iran.
The American attack on Iran is reverberating across the Middle East, with Assyrian areas in northern Iraq already experiencing the effects of rockets, drones, and falling debris, according to multiple local reports.
The Nineveh Jobs initiative, launched by Assyrian charitable organisation Nineveh Rising, is seeking to address one of the most pressing challenges facing Assyrians in Iraq: the lack of employment.
There has been a surge of AI-generated music online over the past few months, including AI covers of old songs, entirely new tracks, and even the emergence of Narina Sarkis and Remos Ashuraya, believed to be the first-ever Assyrian AI singers.
The patriarchate of the Chaldean Catholic Church revealed in a letter made public on 22 February that church property in the diocese of Urmia in western Iran had been sold illegally by a deacon serving as the diocesan procurator.
Assyrians across the world recently commemorated the martyrdom of Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East, Mar Benyamin XXI Shimun, who was assassinated on 3 March 1918 by the Kurdish tribal chief Simko Shikak.
The Assyrian Democratic Organization has welcomed the agreement between the Syrian government and the PYD/YPG, calling it an important step toward restoring stability, state sovereignty, and inclusive governance in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province.
The Assyria Post
The Assyria Post
The Assyria Post
