Still Missing in Iraq - HRW

Young women gathered in Tahrir Square commemorating youth killed during the early weeks of the Tishreen uprising, December 2019, Baghdad, Iraq © 2019 Ivor Prickett - Panos Pictures

Four years ago, anti-government protests erupted across Iraq. People were demonstrating over unemployment, corruption, and poor public services in what became known as the “Tishreen Uprising.”

Authorities responded with lethal force, and in addition to deaths and injuries, a number of people were disappeared.

Some remain missing. They include a photographer, a journalist, an activist, and a human rights lawyer, among others.

Their families are desperate to know where they are. The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances has managed to help some, with loved ones located and released. However, Iraqi authorities have not provided any information on at least 13 remaining cases, nor explained the steps taken to search for the disappeared persons or to investigate their cases.

More than 70 civil society organisations have urged authorities to clarify what happened to them.

It’s been four years since the outrageous abduction of peaceful protesters. It’s even more outrageous authorities have yet to come clean about their fate. - Human Rights Watch