ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - While fighting corruption is an important goal, Iraqi authorities should ensure safeguards, including due process, a Human Rights Watch regional director said late Tuesday following the sweeping crackdown on senior officials and politicians in Iraq’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign.
“Fighting corruption is an important goal, but Iraqi authorities should ensure that they do so in a way that respects rights, including due process, and provides safeguards to prevent the use of torture and ill-treatment to obtain confessions,” deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch Adam Coogle said in a statement late Tuesday.
Remarks from rights groups come as Iraqi authorities continue investigations across Iraq in an initiative known as Operation Dawn, a large-scale anti-corruption campaign launched on Sunday under the direction of Prime Minister Zaidi in coordination with Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity.
To date, the operation has resulted in the arrests of over 21 senior government employees, according to government spokesperson Haidar al-Aboudi. Cases extend to former officials, and lawmakers, including notable figures such as former Salahadin governor Raed al-Jubouri, three former members of parliament from the Salahadin province, and Adnan al-Jumaili, the former deputy oil minister for refining affairs, accused of embezzlement of 200 billion dinars ($152 million).
“Iraq has consistently suffered from high levels of corruption, which have had direct consequences for the government’s ability to fulfill its citizens’ rights,” noted Coogle.
Human Rights Watch released a World Report 2026 on Iraq that highlights cases of endemic corruption and impunity undermining the rule of law and public services. Its reference to the latest annual UN Human Rights Council’s evaluation on Iraq’s use of human rights cites concerns of “unfair trials, restrictions on free expression and assembly, and impunity for serious abuses by state-affiliated armed groups and security forces.”
The report underscores key recommendations such as reforming or repealing discriminatory laws and passing domestic violence protections, noting that Iraq was “in the process of drafting a law against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
Iraq ranked 136th out of 182 countries in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), scoring 28 out of 100, reflecting a high level of public-sector corruption by global standards.
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Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch
“Iraq has consistently suffered from high levels of corruption, which have had direct consequences for the government’s ability to fulfill its citizens’ rights. Fighting corruption is an important goal, but Iraqi authorities should ensure that they do so in a way that respects rights, including due process, and provides safeguards to prevent the use of torture and ill-treatment to obtain confessions.” Tuesday evening
