While three waves of arrests related to administrative corruption cases have hit Saqqez over the past four months, resulting in the detention of roughly 17 city council members, municipal employees, and contractors, a 30% surge in administrative violation cases across Kurdistan province, combined with allegations pointing to the role of certain supervisory and judicial bodies, has raised serious questions about the roots of corruption and the effectiveness of judicial crackdowns in this county.
Over recent months, Saqqez has witnessed one of its most extensive administrative corruption cases in years. Following two waves of arrests targeting municipal employees and city council members in March 2026 and June 2026, a fresh wave of detentions began yet again in late June.
In this latest phase, several contractors working under municipal contracts were arrested alongside a number of municipal employees. According to available information, the total number of individuals arrested so far has reached approximately 17, including:
2 city council members8 municipal employees7 contractors
Some of these individuals have been released on bail, while others remain in custody.
