Asayish (Kurdistan Region) Explained

Agency Name:Kurdistan Asayish
Nativename A:Asayîşa Herêma Kurdistanê
Nativename R:ئاسایشی هەرێمی کوردستان
Seal:Asaysh (Kurdistan Region) Logo.png
Employees:10000+ - 12000+
Headquarters:Erbil, Duhok and Sulaymaniyah
Chief1 Name:Dr. Xesrew GulIsmet Erguşî
Parent Agency:Kurdistan Region Security Council

Asayîş or Asayish (Kurdish for security[1]) is the Kurdish security organization and the primary intelligence agency operating in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. The organization was established in September 1993[2] and has been often referred to as an "intelligence agency",[3] "security force", "security service",[4] "security",[5] "secret service",[6] "secret police",[7] or just "Kurdish police." Asayish coordinates and shares information with Parastin u Zanyari, the investigative arms and intelligence gatherers operating in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

It acts under the command of the Kurdistan Parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Its official goals according to the Kurdistan Regional Government are the following:

The organization has jurisdiction over a lot of things including:

Issues

In 2009 Amnesty International accused Asayish of abusing human rights, including torture and other ill-treatment, and claimed that the agency was "above the law" in Iraqi Kurdistan.[8] The Kurdistan Regional Government criticized Amnesty by stating:

In November 2016, Amnesty International reported that Kurdish authorities (namely Peshmerga and Asayish) had taken part in Kurdification, by forcefully displacing Arabs in Kirkuk by bulldozing homes and banishing the residents.[9]

See also

References

  1. News: Iraq Accused: A Case of Genocide . The New York Times . Judith . Miller . 1993-01-03 . 2010-04-25.
  2. https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Mew-04.htm Mew
  3. Web site: Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) . 2008-01-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071021030433/http://web.krg.org/articles/detail.asp?anr=12997&rnr=73&lngnr=12&smap=02010200 . 2007-10-21 . dead .
  4. News: Gary Trotter: My Life In Media . https://web.archive.org/web/20060714015837/http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article1154093.ece . dead . July 14, 2006 . The Independent . London . 2006-07-03 . 2010-04-25 . James . McNair.
  5. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/oct2006/kurd-o14.shtml Mounting social crisis in Kurdish Iraq
  6. News: Militias Wresting Control Across Iraq's North and South . The Washington Post . Anthony . Shadid . Steve . Fainaru . 2010-04-25.
  7. Web site: A detour with Kurdish secret police The Agonist . 2008-01-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080618032743/http://agonist.org/nick/20060303/a_detour_with_kurdish_secret_police . 2008-06-18 . dead .
  8. Web site: Iraq: Hope and fear: Human rights in the Kurdistan region of Iraq . 2009-04-14 . . 2009-04-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090417212840/http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE14/006/2009/en. 17 April 2009 . live.
  9. Web site: Iraq: Kurdish authorities bulldoze homes and banish hundreds of Arabs from Kirkuk. Amnesty International.