Anwar Hassan v. Barzani

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA Alexandria Division SHNYAR ANWAR HASSAN, ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 1:22-cv-1288 ) MASROUR BARZANI, ) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION This defamation case is a political sideshow1 brought by Plaintiff Shnyar Anwar Hassan (“Plaintiff”), a self-proclaimed Kurdish political advocate, against Defendant Masrour Barzani (“Defendant”), the prime minister of the Kurdistan autonomous region in Northern Iraq. Plaintiff, a U.S. citizen living in Virginia, has long publicly opposed Defendant’s leadership of the Kurdistan…