“The Iraqi Police Command has launched a campaign to shut down places selling alcoholic drinks in Baghdad,” the command said in a statement sent to Rudaw.
“We will impose strict measures against violators of the decision and public intoxication,” it added, without specifying what punishments would be imposed.
The raids are part of a wider campaign to punish those “disrespecting the holy month of Ramadan.”
Local authorities in Baghdad usually crack down on liquor stores in the capital during the holy month of Ramadan and the sacred Shiite month of Muharram.
On October 23, 2016, the Iraqi parliament passed a bill deeming the import and sale of alcohol illegal. The law, however, is not enforced.
“This law is necessary to preserve Iraq’s identity as a Muslim country,” Mahmoud al-Hassan, a Shi’ite lawmaker and head of the legal panel of parliament, told Reuters at the time.
Yonadim Kenna, an MP from Iraq’s Christian minority, meanwhile, called the ban unconstitutional.
“The decision gives a negative picture on what is supposed to be democratic Iraq. It’s a violation to the freedoms of all, not a certain group,” Kenna told Reuters.
Provinces continue to determine special places and hours for alcohol shops to open.
The sale and consumption of all alcoholic drinks was banned in Saladin by the provincial governor in mid-2018 in a move that residents compared to the strict conservatism of the Islamic State (ISIS).
The issue occasionally sparks violence. A liquor store in Baghdad came under an attack by unknown gunmen on March 15 this year. The perpetrators were suspected jihadists.
In May 2017, police in Kirkuk punished more than 70 people for allegedly drinking alcohol in public places and harassing pedestrians by publicly shaving their heads.
Elsewhere in Iraq, other strict measures have been taken in the interests of modesty and piety during the holy month of Ramadan.
Security forces in Kirkuk city have arrested at least 20 men for wearing trousers shorter than three-quarter-length, also known as “Bermuda” style shorts, following the implementation of a strict evening dress code.
Public intoxication is illegal in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
.jpg&w=3840&q=75)