cover image: Iraq: Five years after Tishreen protests, impunity reigns supreme

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Iraq: Five years after Tishreen protests, impunity reigns supreme

29 Sep 2024

Successive Iraqi governments have failed to ensure justice, truth and reparation for the lethal crackdown against the 2019 Tishreen protests that led to the killing and disappearance of hundreds and the injury of thousands of protesters, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the five-year anniversary of the nation-wide protests that saw hundreds of thousands of Iraqis calling for economic reforms and an end to corruption. A new report entitled “We hold them responsible for the blood of our youth” exposes the Iraqi authorities’ litany of broken promises to the victims of the October 2019 protest crackdown. The report reveals an alarming pattern of neglect and impunity, with meagre attempts to deliver meaningful justice in comparison to the scale of serious human rights violations and crimes under international law committed during and in the aftermath of the nationwide protests of October 2019, including the excessive and unlawful use of lethal force by anti-riot police, counterterrorism forces and members of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). “The five-year anniversary of the nation-wide Tishreen protests is a stark reminder of ongoing entrenched impunity coupled with the Iraqi authorities’ lack of political will to ensure justice, truth and reparation to victims, survivors and their relatives for crimes under international law and other grave human rights violations committed by security forces and affiliated militias during and in the aftermath of the protests,” said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.“The Iraqi authorities must take all measures to ensure independent, impartial and transparent investigations that include those who may have planned or ordered crimes committed since 2019 against protesters, activists and their families, as well as ensure protection for witnesses and for families campaigning for justice. They must establish a national database to provide reliable data on the identity of disappeared persons, as recommended by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, and ensure the draft law on enforced disappearances currently before parliament is in line with international law and standards. Members of the international community must also pursue criminal investigations into the crimes committed by the Iraqi authorities under the principle of universal jurisdiction.” Out of the 2,700 criminal investigations opened, only 10 arrest warrants have been issued against suspected perpetrators, and only seven convictions were handed down, according to Amnesty International’s analysis of information from Iraqi courts that Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council shared with the organization in August 2024. Six high-profile cases related to Tishreen violations examined by Amnesty International underscore the serious flaws in the judicial system, political interference in the work of the judiciary, the lack of will to hold the powerful members of the security forces and affiliated militias accountable, and the complete lack of transparency surrounding judicial proceedings. The cases also demonstrate the acute risk that witnesses and family members of victims seeking justice face.
iraq news middle east unlawful killings middle east and north africa impunity disappearances press release protests and demonstrations
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