ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — In Iraq’s western province of Anbar, authorities have arrested or investigated individuals expressing support for protests in the majority Shiite south and capital of Baghdad, an international human rights monitor warned on Monday.
“Authorities in Iraq’s Anbar governorate are suppressing the right of residents to show support for demonstrations elsewhere in the country,” reported Human Rights Watch (HRW).
HRW’s report documented four cases in which Iraqis in Anbar were subject to police detainment or scrutiny for expressing support for protestors. Two Iraqi men from Anbar have already been arrested for posting solidarity messages on Facebook and one has been questioned, the New York-based organisation said, while a fourth has gone into hiding.
Intervention by Anbar’s authorities marks a worrying turn in freedom of political expression, according to Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“Despite years of terrible conflict, many Iraqis have felt free to speak out on political issues. But these cases mark a disturbing change, if you contrast these men’s entirely peaceful political statements with the completely inappropriate response by the Anbar authorities,” Whitson said.
Protests across Iraq’s Shiite south and centre, including the capital Baghdad, have been ongoing since October 1, 2019. Initially on the streets to to protest unemployment and corruption, Iraqis are now calling for an overhaul of the country’s political system, including constitutional change.
Protesters have been met with deadly force, including the firing of live ammunition fire military grade tear gas canisters. More than 250 Iraqis have so far lost their lives.
Protests in Iraq’s majority Sunni Arab northern and western provinces, however, have been few and far between.
According to HRW, Facebook posts of solidarity from Anbar’s residents have been enough for Iraqi security to act repressively. HRW cited a statement by Anbar’s Police Command that urged protestors to continue their normal life and to “benefit from past lessons”.
“One man told Human Rights Watch he had so badly wanted to engage in the social movement that he had relocated to Baghdad. But he and others who spoke with Human Rights Watch said they read this post by the Anbar police as an implicit threat that authorities in Anbar would not tolerate any protests,” added HRW.
Part of the documentation came from interviewing the families of two of the men arrested.
Sameer Rashed Mahmoud, 27, posted on Facebook at midnight on October 26, expressing there should be a strike among students and government employees in solidarity with Iraqis elsewhere.
“About an hour and a half later, his cousin said, counterterrorism officers arrived at Mahmoud’s home and detained him. They told his family they were arresting him for his Facebook post, which they said was inciting people to protest,” HRW reported.
Mahmoud is still in detention and not permitted to speak to his family, despite word from security forces that he would be released.
A second case was that of a 25-year-old Iraqi who added a frame to his Facebook profile photo on the evening of October 26 to show solidarity with other Iraqis. Four hours later, five police officers arrived at his house and detained him.
“They hit him and accused him of inciting protests, before handcuffing him and putting him in one of their cars,” his relative said. He remained in prison until October 31, released without charge.
“These arrests could signify a serious retrogression in free speech in some parts of the country,” Whitson said. “It’s crucial for these cases to remain the exception.”
Mosul Eye, a news blog established to report conditions and events in the city during its occupation by Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed that people in Mosul were threatened not to participate in the protests.
“A group of students from several schools around Mosul have joined the protest despite the fears after the militias have threatened to arrest anyone protest, and the fact that 6 students were arrested two days ago after they protested and were later released with the condition of signing a document not to protest again and also were told if they protest they will be charged with terrorism crimes,” Mosul Eye posted on Sunday.
Iraqis in majority Sunni provinces are no stranger to protests, with stubborn, year-long demonstrations against sectarianism, corruption and a lack of basic services rocking these areas from the end of 2012.
Protests were brutally repressed, however, and some Iraqi politicians claimed the expression of discontent paved the way for ISIS, who rapidly took control of most Sunni Arab majority areas in Iraq and leaving them war-ravaged in the wake of their defeat.
Protests relented in these wearied areas, struggling with slow reconstruction and a resurgence of ISIS.
However, multiple social media posts have shown Mosul University students going on strike in solidarity with their counterparts in the south, repeating the “No Country! No Classes” slogan.
Some protestors have reportedly even travelled to Baghdad to join the largest protests.
“As the Mosulis were threatened not to protest in Mosul, now many reported to have joined the protest in Baghdad. Note: Heads of Schools, Universities and colleges were threatened if they allow any protest in Mosul they will be removed from office immediately,” a November 2 tweet from Mosul Eye read.
