​​Shwan Saber Kurdi, a human rights lawyer from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, was violently assaulted on 16 July 2025 by unidentified armed men in three vehicles in Erbil. The assailants attempted to kidnap Kurdi, and when they failed, they severely beat him and threatened him to stop publicly criticising the Kurdistan Regional Government or face even harsher consequences. The attack left him with serious injuries requiring hospitalisation. Despite Kurdi filing a complaint and the perpetrators being easily identifiable, the authorities took no serious action. This was not the first time he had been targeted, earlier incidents included another attempted kidnapping and physical assault. Kurdi continues to speak out against repression despite escalating threats, representing a broader trend of violence and impunity targeting civil society and legal professionals in Iraqi Kurdistan.