The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has documented the human rights situation in Iraq during the past five years since the start of the popular movement, including by publishing 32 periodic reports detailing the grave violations taking place in the country. They can be viewed here.
The 32nd periodic report covers various types of grave violations, including gross human rights violations that occurred in Iraq in the past two months.
Arrest of a civil society activist leads to widespread protests
On 07 March 2024, civil society activist Karar Al-Zirjawi was arrested in the city of Nasiriyah by a special force coming from Baghdad. Local sources confirmed that his arrest is linked to a malicious lawsuit filed against him by a member of the Iraqi Parliament, representative Nissan Al-Zayer.
Upon his arrest, on the same day, dozens of demonstrators closed Al-Haboubi Square in central Nasiriyah, in addition to cutting off the Hadarat Bridge and the Al-Bahou intersection in the city with burning tires, as shown in this video. They confirmed that they are demonstrating because they believed the charges against him are malicious and that he is being targeted because of his extensive participation in the popular movement in recent years, including the large-scale October 2019 protests.
Karar works as a correspondent for the "Yalla” website in Dhi Qar Governorate, which is a community page on Facebook concerned with Iraqi public affairs and has more than three and a half million followers.
On 19 March 2024, he was released due to massive popular protests, which in turn led to the dropping of the lawsuit against him.
Blogger Yasser El-Juboori arrested
On 26 February 2024, the Iraqi blogger and online activist Yasser El-Juboori, who also holds Irish citizenship, was arrested. He was arrested by an Iraqi security force without a judicial warrant, despite having entered Iraq a week before his arrest without any difficulties.
Al-Juboori uses his account on X to express his personal opinions, and he often criticises the performance of Iraqi politicians and the Iraqi authorities, including the current government, in addition to criticising aspects of rampant corruption.
On 27 February 2024, his family, who reside in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, issued a statement addressed to the President, the Prime Minister, and the President of the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq, calling on them to intervene to release him.
In the statement they mention that the reason for his visit to Iraq was "to visit his sick mother who was admitted to the hospital a week ago and is in poor health.” The statement went on to explain that, "Yasser is a journalist and anti-corruption activist who obtained guarantees from some officials to visit Iraq, and after completing his visit, he was arrested at Baghdad airport by an unknown party without a judicial order or an arrest warrant, and without a complaint against him. After he was insulted and beaten, his phone and money were confiscated.” They added, "His passport was also confiscated without a judicial order. After that, Yasser was transferred to more than one place, blindfolded, and treated inhumanely.”
The statement added, "After the media uproar occurred about Yasser being kidnapped from Baghdad Airport by an unknown party, he was deposited at the Salhiya Police Station and a case was registered against him by the legal team of the Prime Minister’s Office in accordance with Article 226 of the Publication Law, which is the only complaint that was presented to the judge today, noting that Yasser has been on a hunger strike since the time of his arrest due to the violations and injustice during the arrest process. He is prohibited from meeting his family and friends at the police station even after his statements were recorded in court. It is said that these are higher directives in clear violation of human rights. Today he was referred to the National Security Court, but thanks to the National Security judge who objected, he was transferred to the publishing court, considering his case a misdemeanour related to the publishing law.”
On 29 February 2024, El-Juboori was released after the Iraqi Prime Minister issued an order revoking all legal complaints filed against him, which happened after a widespread solidarity campaign with him on social media by Internet activists and citizens as his family launched a campaign bearing the hashtag #Freedom_for_Yasser. Also, the intervention and pressures of the Irish government had a significant impact on accelerating his release, as he returned to his family in Dublin on 05 March 2024.
While GCHR welcomes the release of blogger and online activist Yasser El-Juboori, it condemns his arrest and the ill-treatment he was subjected to after his arrest, and believes that targeting him has violated his right to freedom of expression online and beyond. GCHR also condemns the use of Article 226 of the Iraqi Penal Code of 1969, which states: "Anyone who publicly insults the National Assembly, the government, the courts, the armed forces, or other statutory bodies, public authorities, official or semi-official departments or departments shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years, imprisonment, or a fine.” The law has been used in order to target internet activists and government critics and put them in prison.
Three-year prison sentence issued against activist in Basra
On 25 February 2024, the Basra Criminal Court sentenced civil society activist Ahmed Hussain Muhalhal to three years’ imprisonment, after convicting him of a charge of allegedly burning the Basra Governorate building on 14 September 2018, while he was participating in a demonstration, according to the text of the verdict which GCHR reviewed a copy of. He was imprisoned on 20 February 2024.
His colleagues confirmed that this charge was malicious, as he participated peacefully in the popular demonstrations that demanded water, electricity, and improving public services provided to citizens, which began in September 2018. They added that he was targeted because he was a prominent figure among those who led those demonstrations and had a loud voice demanding citizens’ rights. In this video, Muhalhal confirms that the accusation is malicious, and presents evidence proving his innocence, while asking citizens to stand in solidarity with him.
Several protests were held in solidarity with him after the ruling was issued against him, demanding his release as he is an innocent peaceful demonstrator. He has a family consisting of his wife and three children. His father suffers from a mobility disability and his mother is blind, and he is their sole breadwinner. It is hoped that the Court of Cassation will consider the appeal of the ruling in the coming weeks.
Civil society activist sentenced to prison due to malicious cases
On 22 February 2024, civil society activist Haider Hussain Hamid (Haider Hawija) was arrested by some members of the Al-Fuhud District Police Station in Dhi Qar Governorate, where he resides. They took him to the Dhi Qar Governorate Court of Appeal, which sentenced him to six months in prison. He was convicted because of his constant criticism of local officials, including the District Governor, who himself filed several lawsuits against him.
Hawija uses his Facebook page to address public affairs that concern citizens in Al-Fuhud District, while simultaneously confronting corruption. On 27 January 2024, he posted the following on his page, "My share is the courts, fines, and compensation… A few days ago, I had to pay fines amounting to 3 million Iraqi dinars, and today I am forced to come to court to hear the court judge’s decision, after the District Governor asked me to pay a compensation amounting to 30 million for publishing criticism against him and explaining his failure in managing the district.” He added, "Be assured that we were created free wherever we are placed, and you will find that we have a sharp voice that cannot be tamed.” He accompanied these words with a video of him documenting his services to the residents of the district in order to provide the best public services to them and combat corruption in the official departments of the district. He also described his journey being targeted with malicious lawsuits, which he stated amounted to 47 lawsuits over the course of four years.
After widespread public demands, he was released on 12 March 2024.
Demonstrations of solidarity with prisoners of conscience
Civil society in both Basra and Dhi Qar Governorates continues to show its full solidarity with prisoners of conscience and continues to organise demonstrations demanding their release. On 01 March 2024, two marches were launched in both governorates. The first started from Al-Haboubi Square, downtown Nasiriyah, the capital of Dhi Qar Governorate, and included a number of civil society activists and citizens from various regions of the governorate, and headed towards the local government building. The second one started from Abdulkarim Qasim Square in the centre of Basra and headed to the local government building as well. The two marches raised pictures of civil society activists, Haider Hawija, who was later released, and Ahmed Muhalhal, who is still in prison. The demonstrators demanded an end to malicious prosecutions and the release of all prisoners of conscience.
Political commentator re-arrested due to his declared opinions
Late at night on 14 January 2024, an armed group wearing civilian clothes affiliated with the National Security Service arrested political analyst Mohammed Na’na Hassan again, to implement the decision of the Karrada Misdemeanour Court, which was issued on the same day, a copy of which was shared with GCHR. He was convicted during his trial on 09 September 2022, based on the complaint filed against him by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, which was linked to Na’na’s criticism of him on a television programme.
His arrest sparked a major solidarity campaign launched by civil society organisations and his fellow journalists. On 16 January 2024, a stand in solidarity with him was organised in Al-Tahrir Square, in the centre of the capital, Baghdad, where protesters, including his colleagues and a number of civil society activists, demanded his immediate release and the protection of freedom of expression.
On 29 January 2024, he was released based on the decision issued on the same day by the Karrada First Instance Court after the Prime Minister dropped the complaint he had filed against him. Press reports stated that Na’na apologised for his previous statements before the Prime Minister dropped the complaint.
GCHR welcomes the release of political analyst Mohammed Na’na and the final suspension of the case brought against him, a case that should never have been brought against him in the first place as it violated his right to freedom of expression.
For more information on this case, see here.
Prominent journalist Fakhri Karim survives assassination attempt
On the evening of 22 February 2024, prominent writer, journalist and publisher Fakhri Karim, the 81-year-old President of Al-Mada Foundation for Media, Culture and Arts, survived an assassination attempt carried out by unknown gunmen who were riding in pickup trucks.
Al-Mada Foundation published the same evening on its Facebook page a statement which explained that the assassination attempt had occurred in the Al-Qadisiyah area in Baghdad, while he was returning to his home, coming from the Iraq International Book Fair. The statement condemned the assassination attempt and called for "a rapid investigation to be opened into the criminals and those who stand behind them, who hate Baghdad’s pride and cultural and social brilliance, in order to bring them to justice to receive their just punishment.” Al-Mada Foundation had successfully organised the current session of the Iraq International Book Fair, which was attended by thousands of citizens.
Karim worked in many daily and weekly newspapers, published several newspapers and magazines in Iraq and abroad, and served as Vice President of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate between 1970 and 1980.
Journalist Yasser Al-Hamdani wrongfully detained
Journalist Yasser Al-Hamdani is from the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Governorate, and has worked in the field of journalism in Iraq since 2003. Al-Hamdani, who is a member of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, was subjected to many harassments and violations during his years of work, the last of which was at the end of 2022, when an official filed a complaint against him in the Publishing and Media Court. This complaint filed against him continued until 2023, and was accompanied by persecution and harassment by the security services. This was followed by an arrest warrant and investigation issued against him by the Publishing and Media Court in Nineveh, on 20 November 2022, in accordance with Article 433 of the Iraqi Penal Code of 1969.
On 21 February 2023, he went to the Publishing and Media Cases Court and surrendered himself, where he was interrogated by the investigating judge, who, after completing his investigation, decided to release him on bail of 3 million Iraqi dinars (approximately $1,900 US dollars) on the same day.
An charge was brought against him, namely of allegedly "defaming an Iraqi official,” but the court decided on 30 May 2023, after two consecutive sessions, to acquit and release him.
Al-Hamdani’s suffering did not end there, as the court did not cancel the previous circular ordering his arrest, so he was arrested again in the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
On 02 October 2023, he was taken in his private car from his home in the city of Erbil by Asayish forces (Kurdish Internal Security) to their local headquarters. After they confiscated his personal documents, his mobile phone, and his car key, they transported him, after handcuffing him, to the Asayish headquarters in Erbil (the town’s Internal Security Directorate) who in turn transferred him to the main headquarters of the Asayish in Erbil Governorate (General Directorate of Internal Security), where they transferred him after confiscating his medications, despite his chronic illness, to a large building that turned out to be an Asayish prison. During all these stages, all Asayish members, including at least one officer, refused to give him any reason for his arrest and told him that they were orders from higher authorities.
The area of the cell in which he was placed did not exceed 24 square metres, but more than 50 detainees, most of whom were drug dealers and users, were crammed in it, and it was permanently closed from midnight until 8 am, without any sanitary facilities inside.
Al-Hamdani suffered greatly while inside this cell, crowded with inmates and flooded with cigarette smoke. His health deteriorated greatly, and despite his requests for his medications several times, they were not given to him.
Two days later, due to his repeated requests, he was transferred to the medical clinic inside the prison. He was in poor health, unable to speak or walk, and suffering from shortness of breath. After receiving treatment, he was returned to the same cell.
On the morning of the third day, he was investigated, and it became clear that the reason for his arrest was the same case that the Iraqi judiciary had acquitted him in many months ago. On 04 October 2023, he was transferred to another cell that was worse than his first cell, as it was crowded with more than 130 prisoners in a place that was not subject to health and safety standards or human rights standards.
Al-Hamdani stayed in this prison for six days, which he considered to be among the worst days of his life. He was released on 07 October 2023. During that time, he suffered from back and joint pain, the effects of which remain until now, in addition to the bad psychological effects due to the horror of what he faced as an innocent citizen. He did not commit any violation.
Al-Hamdani confirmed to GCHR that his targeting was only related to him drawing "attention to administrative and financial corruption in a government entity on social media sites and in the television interviews he was conducting with visual media, in addition to his documentation of the violations and attacks committed against journalists in the city of Mosul since 2003.”
Al-Hamdani has been residing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for more than nine years, away from his city of Mosul due to the lack of a healthy environment suitable for his work as an independent journalist, which includes dealing with corruption files in local government departments and completed projects in Nineveh Governorate.
Assassination of transgender blogger Simsim
In the early hours of the morning on 15 February 2024, transgender blogger Salam Musafer (Simsim), 28 years old, was killed near Al-Jadaria Square, in the centre of the city of Diwaniyah, the capital of Diwaniyah Governorate, after being stabbed several times with a sharp knife to different parts of Simsim’s body, including the heart.
Simsim, known for an active social media presence, spent eight years in Turkey due to the harassment and threats faced in Iraq for being transgender. Simsim was killed two days after returning to Iraq to visit family and after receiving a large number of threats warning Simsim not to return.
On 21 February 2024, the Diwaniyah Governorate Police Command announced the arrest of the person who committed the murder, who attributed his confessions to a financial dispute between them.
GCHR shares Simsim’s family’s grief and sadness and condemns this brutal murder, which took place in the absence of any protection by the local authorities, despite the serious threats received.
Attack on a peaceful gathering of engineers in Amara
On 05 March 2024, dozens of graduate engineers demonstrated in front of the Maysan Governorate Oil Company in the city of Amara, which is the capital of the governorate. The demonstrators, who consist of 130 engineers, are demanding employment for all of them and have been demonstrating for more than three years. As shown in this video, the security forces insulted them and used excessive force to disperse the peaceful demonstration, resulting in the injury of a number of protesters.
Excessive force used against women engineers who participated in a peaceful demonstration
On 20 February 2024, riot control forces in Basra Governorate attacked a number of women engineers peacefully demonstrating in front of the South Gas Company located on the Basra-Safwan Road, and severely beat them with batons, as documented in this video. The protesters, who have been demonstrating for more than a year, are demanding that they be provided with job opportunities.
Engineer Zainab Al-Basri, one of the participants in the protest, confirmed in a special statement to GCHR that, "The protest was very peaceful and we were attacked based on direct orders issued by the commander of the riot control forces in the governorate, and they were not held accountable for the violations they committed.” She added, "We have the constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully.”
Feminist organisations stand on the occasion of International Women’s Day
On 08 March 2024, International Women’s Day, feminist civil society organisations, including the Iraqi Women’s Network and the Iraqi Women’s Association, held a stand on Al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad, in solidarity with the women of Iraq and the world, stressing the need for Iraqi women to obtain all their civil and human rights, and the need to legislate a law against domestic violence.
Demonstration by families of prisoners coming from various governorates
On 05 March 2024, a demonstration of families of prisoners was launched from the Alawi Al-Hilla area in Baghdad, which included hundreds of people coming from various Iraqi governorates, demanding the adoption of a general amnesty law and the release of their children, a re-investigation due to the presence of evidentiary evidence confirming the innocence of their children, and an end to the rampant corruption in the contracts of feeding prisoners. The demonstration then set off to the gates of the Green Zone to gather in front of the main door leading to the Iraqi Parliament building.
Coalition to Defend Freedom of Expression launched
On 12 February 2024, at a conference held in Baghdad, the formation of the Coalition to Defend Freedom of Expression was announced, which is composed of a group of non-governmental organisations, including GCHR, the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR), and the Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy. The coalition will be managed by partner organisations.
In its founding statement, the coalition affirmed its rejection of "attempts to restrict the freedom of expression and of opinion guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution in Article 38 and the international conventions to which Iraq must abide.” It said, "For 13 years, we have been facing political and armed forces seeking to impose laws that take us back to the era of police dictatorship, in particular regarding the draft law on freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration.”
In another statement, the coalition addressed, "The recent directive issued by the Acting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, to the Legal Department in the Parliament, to file lawsuits against any institution or individual that ‘offends’ the legislative institution and the members of the House of Representatives.” The statement described this directive as, "an extremely dangerous directive, because it uses a loose term when it says ‘offends’.”
The statement explained that, "This loose term will be used against anyone who criticises or expresses an opinion that does not please influential people, or those who are involved in the scene in the country, which constitutes a major constitutional violation of Article 38 of the Iraqi Constitution in force for the year 2005, and a clear indication that there are systematic attempts to undermine the freedom to express opinions.”
Numbers of detainees and convicts in detention centres exceeded the capacity by seven times
In a statement issued on 02 February 2024, the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (IRCHR) in Basra Governorate announced, "The number of detainees and convicts in the centers affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, especially in the Narcotics Control Department, has reached more than 7 times the capacity.” The statement emphasised the threat posed by this phenomenon, "especially in the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Control Department and its people to more than 7 times the absorptive capacity, which threatens the occurrence of deaths or the spread of serious diseases, including pulmonary tuberculosis and skin diseases. The situation is no different in other situations, in addition to Basra Central Prison, which is at no less than 5 times its capacity.”
Strengthening the participation and representation of Iraqi women
On 29 January 2024, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) published a report that included the results and recommendations of the consultations it conducted with the National Directorate for Iraqi Women in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers of the Iraqi Government, in addition to local authorities, civil society organistions, former members of the Parliament, former members of the governorates councils, youth, and women.
The report included important key recommendations that called for training and supporting women politicians and those aspiring to enter political life, supporting public education and raising awareness regarding the legal framework that regulates women’s participation in political and electoral processes, and enhancing security, especially during electoral campaign periods, with a focus on women candidates during campaign periods.
Iraqi Parliament sets new regulations restricting the work of journalists
On 27 January 2024, the Presidency of the Iraqi Parliament issued new regulations to regulate the work of journalists inside the Parliament building, including requiring them to wear official uniforms, and placing restrictions on their movement inside the building and carrying out their journalistic work. Among these controls, which were reviewed by GCHR, the following was stated regarding journalists’ movement and work: "It is forbidden for them to roam in the corridors of the Council building or to conduct press interviews or photography.”
Recommendations
GCHR calls on the Iraqi government to assume full responsibility in protecting all citizens, including human rights defenders, journalists, civil society and members of vulnerable minorities.
In addition, the relevant Iraqi authorities must clearly and unequivocally identify all perpetrators of the abduction, torture and killing of human rights defenders, peaceful protesters and other activists, and bring them to justice immediately.
The authorities must fulfil their constitutional obligations not to violate public freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of the media.
source/ GCHR