The family of a British man who helped capture Osama Bin Laden claims he has been abandoned by the intelligence services after he was jailed in Iraq. Lahur Talabani, 51, who grew up in Beckenham, South London, was arrested after security forces stormed his family compound in Iraq in August last year.
Lahur was sentenced in October, accused of conspiring with his party, the People’s Front, to stage a coup against the ruling PUK Party in the Sulaymaniyah region of Kurdistan. He and his brother Polad, 48, grew up in the UK after their families fled Iraq during the brutal reign of Saddam Hussein.
Role in Bin Laden Capture
The brothers returned to the country in the 2000s to help fight Islamic State (ISIS) alongside UK and US forces. Father of three, Lahur, who is the nephew of former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, headed the Counter Terrorism Group (CTG), which worked with the CIA and MI6 to root out Islamic extremists.
He is credited with intercepting a courier carrying a letter from infamous Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the former head of the terror group in Iraq. A US official later told the Associated Press the capture of the courier “was the linchpin” in finding and killing bin Laden in his Pakistan hideout in 2011.
Family's Claims
A close relative of Lahur living in London said the family feel abandoned by the intelligence services and the Foreign Office. They dispute the sentence handed down and claim it is politically motivated.
“Lahur and Polad are British citizens, and they helped the UK and the Americans defeat ISIS, one of the greatest threats to peace in modern times,” he said. “Lahur was instrumental in capturing a courier sent from Osama Bin Laden, and he passed that information to the UK and US security services. The letter helped the Americans find bin Laden.”
“He helped the West stop one of the world’s most infamous terrorists in history, and now he has been left to rot in jail and sentenced over ridiculous allegations.”
Political Background and Charges
Lahur had been active politically in the Kurdistan region of Iraq since leaving the CTG, where he had reportedly worked closely with British and American intelligence, including MI6. In 2024, he founded the People’s Front Party, seeking to challenge the ruling PUK Party for a share of the vote. He is also a keen supporter of Liverpool FC and is credited with helping build ‘Iraq’s Anfield’ at the Newroz Stadium in Sulaymaniyah, where the team he owns, Newroz SC, plays in Liverpool-esque red home colours.
His family dispute the charges against him and his brother, which claimed he was plotting to overthrow the leader of the Sulaymaniyah region, Bafel Talabani, who is head of the PUK Party and a former London bouncer and son of the ex-president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani.
The PUK authorities maintain that Lahur and Polad were arrested after they failed to surrender to a judicial order on conspiracy charges on August 23 last year. It’s reported that several members of the security forces on both sides died and 51 were injured in a subsequent firefight involving drones and heavy weapons.
Further Legal Proceedings
Both men face further charges for murder in relation to this incident when they are due to return to court in December. Lahur and Polad’s family say the brothers were attacked by a military force and were forced to defend their home.
Former British Ambassador to the United States, France and Turkey, Sir Peter Westmacott told the Daily Express: “Before the sentence last month the brothers were imprisoned without trial for over a year, much of it in solitary confinement, in intolerable conditions. Witnesses have been intimidated - and worse. Now there is to be a further trial for murder.
“I have known the Talabani family for decades. Mam Jalal, the patriarch, was a good friend and a remarkable president of Iraq. I find it hard to believe that he would want his sons - whom I also know and like - to treat his nephews in this way.
“Lahur and Polad are British subjects caught up in a local power play. Not least because of questions about the legitimacy of the legal process, the best way forward would be for the brothers to be released, if need be on condition that they leave the country.”
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are supporting two British men detained in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and are in contact with the local authorities.”
