'Who killed my sister?': Warren man attacked while demanding answers

FOX 2 (WJBK) - With pictures of his deceased sister in hand, a metro Detroit man went to Washington D.C. to seek answers.

Instead, Shakhwan Abdulrahman said he was attacked – and the photos of his sister, Jihan Taha, were stomped on by the security guards of the one person he was hoping to speak with.

"Who killed my sister?" Abdulrahman said, who is now a U.S. citizen living in Warren.

Taha, a mother of two, died in a car crash in the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq, Oct. 2023. Her family believes she was run off the road, causing her car to catch fire. 

Abdulrahman claims Taha's death was politically motivated, as she was a teacher and an advocate for fair wages who publicly criticized the current prime minister of the Kurdistan Region.

A post made on Taha's Facebook page, just before her crash, raised further questions for the family. The post translates to: "My way to death… Death is calling me." 

Jihan Taha was a teacher and an advocate in northern Iraq.  (Shakhwan Abdulrahman)

"I went to Washington D.C. to meet Masrour Barzani," Abdulrahman said. "He is president of Kurdistan Regional Government, and I tried to meet him."

But when things did not go as planned, he caught it all on video.

"The security of Masrour Barzani… they attacked me because I tried to record them on the street," he said. "They hurt my hand and my back."

Barzani was in D.C. to meet with Secretary Antony J. Blinken at the White House on Feb. 26. A demonstration was held outside the building, which is when Abdulrahman said he was attacked. 

FOX 2 reached out to the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the United States about the incident. According to a spokesperson, no government officials were involved.

However, Abdulrahman said he will not stop demanding justice for his beloved sister.

"I want to teach those people what's freedom," he said.