“The security and intelligence agencies were able to identify the location of the kidnapped, Sajad al-Iraqi, through tracking phone calls,” said Fuad Karim, the head of media at Dhi Qar police department. The “department is committed to providing full protection for activists and demonstrators in Dhi Qar province.”
Al-Iraqi was taken by unidentified assailants late Saturday. Hours later, security forces were able to identify the vehicles which kidnapped the activist, according to a separate statement released by the police department on Saturday.
Videos and photos circulating on social media following the abduction show protesters and activists demanding the release of the activist while blocking Nasiriyah’s main roads and bridges city, as well as gathering in front of the governor’s office late Saturday.
This comes after Iraq’s Prime Ministrer Mustafa al-Kadhimi placed a travel ban on former chief of Dhi Qar crisis cell, Jamil al-Shammari, who is being accused for killing dozens of innocent protesters back in late November, according to a PM spokesperson.
Iraqi activists have been warning of an increasingly threatening environment for those who speak out against the country's current political order. Many have faced assassinations and kidnappings since the start of the anti-government nationwide protest in Iraq’s central and southern part of the country on October 1.
Two Basra activists were assassinated in the space of one week in August, while several others activists in the city have survived attempts on their lives in recent weeks.
Most notably in Baghdad, Iraqi security expert Husham al-Hashimi was shot dead by unknown assailants outside his home on July 6.
None of the assailants have yet been identified.
The country has been rocked by widespread protests since October 2019, with demonstrators demanding basic services, jobs, and an end to state corruption.
When security forces and pro-Iran militias began attacking protesters, activists demanded an end to foreign interference in Iraqi affairs and called for the overthrow of the political establishment.
Human rights monitor Amnesty International estimates that at least 600 protesters and members of the security forces have been killed, with more than 18,000 injured in the protests.
Those carrying out assassinations of activists in Basra are “clearly well-connected individuals,” said Belkis Wille, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch told Rudaw late last month.
Attacks will continue with impunity until the government is both strong and willing enough to bring the perpetrators to justice, Wille added.
