Lissy Schmidt

Lissy was a German journalist known for her support of the Kurdish plight in both Iraq and Turkey. Fluent in both dialects of Kurdish, Sorani and Kurmanji, she was well known and respected by the Kurds. One of her books published in Turkish was banned by the Turkish government and provoked a freedom of expression case in Europe.

Lissy, along with her driver, were ambushed and killed outside of Sulaimani. A monument in her memory was constructed in Sulaimani following the assassination. Two Iraqi men confessed to their murder in 1994 and they were hanged.