This report, issued by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), documents the human rights situation in Iraq during the past two months, including mass protests against the poor living conditions of citizens, the kidnapping of a prominent environmental activist, the attempted assassination of a human rights defender, and the killing of a well-known Iraqi woman blogger, in a shocking crime of gender-based violence.

Citizens demonstrate against deteriorated living-conditions

On 25 January 2023, thousands of citizens (main photo) demonstrated in front of the Central Bank of Iraq building located on Al-Rasheed Street in the centre of the capital, Baghdad, to protest against the high exchange rate of the dollar and the rise in food prices. The value of one dollar during the past weeks exceeded 1,700 dinars, after it had been less than 1,500 dinars, which led to chaos in the Iraqi market. Although Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani confirmed the government’s intention to return the dollar exchange rate to its original level, this has not been achieved so far.

Prominent environmental activist kidnapped
On 01 February 2023, at 10:00 am, prominent environmental activist Jassim Al-Asadi was kidnapped by an unknown armed group in civilian clothes driving two cars. They took him out of his car five kilometres away from Baghdad, where he was headed. He was bound and taken away by his captors to an unknown destination.

Al-Asadi is a consulting hydraulic engineer who was born in 1957 in the depths of the central marshes of southern Iraq. He completed his engineering studies at the University of Technology in Baghdad in 1980. He is considered the most prominent defender of the Iraqi marshes, of which he has detailed information. He had a major role in having the marshes included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016. He is the managing director of the Al-Chibayish office of the Nature Iraq Organisation. Since 2008, he has organised and participated in many activities aimed at preserving the Iraqi marshes and supporting the local people, their way of life and their heritage.
Al-Asadi uses his Facebook page to post pictures of his activities in the Iraqi marshes, where he receives delegations and meets local people with whom he has close ties. On 16 January 2023, he wrote under the above picture the following: “With the rise in water levels in the Euphrates River, life is resurging in our marshes after severe and cruel suffering. Joy is drawn on the faces of our children despite their deprivation of education and health care. As a mercy to our beautiful environment, let’s better manage and take care of it.”
On 06 December 2018, in cooperation with the Iraqi House of Fashion, he presented an unconventional fashion show among reed huts, primitive boats and buffaloes, in the village of Ishan Kubba located within the Al-Chibayish Marshes, which contain ancient Sumerian mounds.

He described the show by saying, “The event was performed by models who wore traditional clothes, some of which were embroidered with symbols and drawings indicating the marshland environment and the Sumerian civilisation.” He also talked with enthusiasm about the event in a televised interview.

GCHR strongly condemns the kidnapping of prominent environmental activist Jassim Al-Asadi and calls on the Iraqi government to make every effort to save his life and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Human rights defender survives attempted assassination
On 27 January 2023, human rights defender Abbas Kamel Al-Jabri (pictured above), 26 years old, survived an assassination attempt near his house, in the city of Souq Al-Shuyoukh in Dhi Qar Governorate, when people riding a motorcycle shot him with their weapons, knocking him to the ground and slightly injuring him. He was taken to the hospital to receive the necessary treatment. Al-Jabri confirmed to GCHR that he was subjected to repeated threats due to his refusal to waive the judicial complaint he filed against those accused of killing his brother, peaceful protester Hamza Kamel Al-Jabri, who lost his life during the Al-Zaytoun Bridge protests in Nasiriyah on 28 November 2019. Those accused were also involved in the killing of other protesters in the city itself.

GCHR, in conjunction with its partners from human rights organisations operating in Iraq, issued a joint statement which stated: “The city of Nasiriyah witnessed on 28 November 2019 a bloody night, where 33 peaceful demonstrators were killed and about 125 others were injured after security forces used live bullets heavily to disperse the demonstrations in Al-Haboubi Square in the city centre and surrounding areas.”

Abbas Al-Jabri actively participated in the popular movement that began in October 2019. He is the founder and director of the Al-Qasit Organisation for Human Rights and Sustainable Development and the president of the Student Knowledge Assembly.

Blogger Taiba Al-Ali strangled
On the night of 31 January 2023, in Diwaniyah Governorate in southern Iraq, blogger Taiba Al-Ali, 22 years old, was killed by her father, who strangled her while she was asleep. The father turned himself in to the police, declaring that he had committed an “honour killing,” according to his claim. Al-Ali fled her country and resided in Istanbul, to which she fled after her brother sexually harassed her and her family failed to protect her from him. She was about to marry her fiancé, Syrian citizen Mohammed Al-Shami, so she returned to Iraq to obtain the blessing of her family, but her father took advantage of the opportunity to kill her after succeeding in luring her home.

Al-Ali was publishing a variety of content on entertaining and aesthetic topics through her Instagram account, where she was followed by more than 160,000 followers. The news of her killing was shocking to Iraqi citizens after audio leaks spread on social media in her voice talking to her father and mother about being sexually harassed by her brother and not being protected by them. This forced her to flee to Turkey, which her father disagreed with, according to his comments in this recording.

Despite her urging in a video she posted before her murder in which she says, “I’m going to die, they’re going to kill me,” in addition to asking for protection from the security authorities, they failed to take the necessary measures to save her life.
The hashtag (#Right_of_Taiba_AlAli) was trending on Twitter in Iraq, where the various segments of Iraqi society denounced the crime committed against an innocent citizen. The authorities should have protected her full right to a free and dignified life. On 05 February 2023, a women’s protest was organised in Baghdad in front of the Supreme Judicial Council. The protesters demanded an end to the killing of women and the enactment of a law to protect them against domestic violence. As shown in the above image, several slogans were raised, including, “Stop honouring the killing of women” and “Stop violence against women.” A delegation representing the protesters, including prominent human rights defender Hanaa Edwar, met with an official of the Supreme Judicial Council, where he was handed the demands of the participating women.

GCHR shares the sorrow and grief of millions for the loss of blogger Taiba Al-Ali and calls on the Iraqi authorities to legislate laws that prevent the recurrence of these killings. The perpetrators of these crimes must not be tolerated, and in no case can light penalties be applied against the perpetrators in the name of so-called “honour”.

Recommendations

GCHR calls on the Iraqi government to assume full responsibility in protecting all demonstrators, journalists, human rights defenders and members of civil society. In addition, the relevant Iraqi authorities must identify all perpetrators of the kidnapping, torture, and killing of human rights defenders, peaceful protesters, and other activists and bring those responsible 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 press, and fight rampant corruption that squanders national wealth which should be for the benefit of all citizens.

Source: Gulf Center of Human Rights