Kurdistan Region Pushes to Secure Political Prisoner Stipends in 2027 Iraqi Budget

At a Glance

Kurdistan Region seeks to secure financial allocations for over 25,000 political prisoners under Iraq's 2027 sovereign budget.
The annual expenditure required to fund the stipends for the Region's political prisoners totals over 229 billion dinars.
Federal officials and ministers have pledged to support the initiative to equalize stipends with Iraqi counterparts.
The Kurdistan Region has independently increased local stipends for frontline and civilian martyrs.

Ahmed Mam Rasul, Director of Political Prisoners' Affairs at the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, confirmed that a formal request has been submitted to allocate financial funds for political prisoners and detainees directly from the 2027 federal sovereign budget, a move that has garnered support from the Ministry of Finance.

Key Statements and Focus Area

The official stated that following the transfer of files for 25,624 detainees and political prisoners from the Kurdistan Region to the Iraqi Political Prisoners Foundation, the ministry requested that their stipends be equalized with federal rates.
Speaking to Channel8, Rasul noted that the annual expenditure to provide these stipends for the Region's political prisoners currently amounts to 229,219,640,000 Iraqi dinars.
To secure this funding permanently, Kurdish officials requested that these financial allocations be integrated into the sovereign budget within the 2027 draft federal budget law.
Rasul added that Iraqi Finance Minister Faleh Sari has backed the proposal. Furthermore, Iraqi President Nizar Amidi, alongside ministers Fuad Hussein, Khalid Shwani, and Srwa Abdulwahid within the Ali Faleh Zaidi cabinet, have promised to support these demands until they are firmly established in the final budget text.

FYI

The initiative by the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs aims to guarantee that political prisoners in the Kurdistan Region receive stipends completely equivalent to those received by Iraqi political prisoners and detainees.

Nationwide, Iraq provides stipends to 158,000 political prisoners across three distinct categories: the first category receives 400,000 dinars, the second receives 800,000 dinars, and the third receives 1,200,000 dinars.

Concurrently, the Kurdistan Region has adjusted its internal welfare allocations.

The stipend for frontline battlefield martyrs has been raised to 1,200,000 dinars from the Region's budget share, while the stipend for civilian martyrs has been doubled from 300,000 dinars to 600,000 dinars.