Rights Watchdog Slams Lack Of Justice For State-Linked Killings Of Protesters In Iraq

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2022) The Iraqi government under former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has not kept its promise to punish those responsible for mass killings of protesters since 2019, a prominent international human rights organization said on Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report in which it collected specific instances of killing, injury, and disappearance of Iraqi protesters during and after the 2019-2020 uprising. Citing UN data, the watchdog said there were nearly 500 such killings committed by Iraqi security forces or state-backed militia in the first few weeks of the 2019 protests. Al-Kadhimi promised justice for the victims when he came to power in May 2020.

"After two and a half years with al-Khadimi in power, his promises of justice for vicious violence against peaceful protesters turned out to be empty, and killers are walking free," HRW middle East deputy director Adam Coogle said.

Al-Kadhimi left office in October amid a political crisis in Iraq.

During his tenure, his government formed a fact-finding committee tasked with carrying out a thorough investigation of all instances of excessive violence against protesters. HRW said that the committee has not made any significant findings available to the public as of yet.

Neither did Al-Kadhimi's government keep its promise to compensate thousands of protesters maimed or injured during the uprising, as only a small faction were compensated, the rights group said.

"The new prime minister can and should work to deliver the justice his predecessor did not," Coogle said.

Mass protests in Iraq in 2019 initially started peacefully, with demonstrators marching against corruption, unemployment, foreign interventions, sectarianism and bad governance. Then-Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi authorized the police and security forces to use force to control crowds, which sparked deadly clashes. Abdul Mahdi stepped down in December 2019, paving the way for a snap election.