Widespread anger over Hattab’s murder sparked renewed protests in Baghdad, Muthanna, Babil, Maysan, and Dhi Qar.
Protests continued on Friday morning. In Samawah, Muthanna governorate, clashes took place between security forces and demonstrators, wounding dozens near the provincial government offices. Protesters called for the resignation of the local government, activist Musa Rahmatullah told Rudaw on Friday.
Hattab’s son Ali Jaseb is an activist who had participated in anti-government protests and was kidnapped in 2019. Hattab was outspoken in calling for the return of his son, even publicly naming the group he believed was behind the kidnapping – Ansarullah al-Awfyya’a, a powerful Iranian-backed militia part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) in Maysan.
Hattab was shot dead on Wednesday evening by two unidentified gunmen while he was walking back to his house in Amarah, the Maysan provincial capital, after attending a memorial for another activist killed last year. The same group who kidnapped the son is suspected to be behind the death of the father.
Since the emergence of the protest movement in October 2019, at least 600 protesters and members of the security forces have been killed and more than 18,000 injured, Amnesty International said in January 2020. There has also been a campaign of targeted assassinations nationwide, including women. Most of the slain activists and journalists had criticized Iran's influence in Iraq, including the deadly role played by Tehran-backed militias.
The Iraqi government has banned the use of violence against protesters and vowed to bring the killers to justice, but has made little progress. Four suspects were arrested in Basra in February. No trials have taken place.
