An Iraqi court launched criminal proceedings against Omar Nazar “on charges of suppressing demonstrators” after previous documents shed light on his direct involvement in events that led to the murder of at least 30 protestors in southern Iraq almost three years ago.
“This arrest is an important first step toward accountability,” Belkis Wille, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a recent statement.
“Arrests for mass killings of protesters and other serious human rights abuses shouldn’t stop here and should never be limited to cases where leaked investigations are made public,” Wille added.
Around three years ago, Iraqis took to the streets in large-scale protests, dubbed the Tishreen (October) movement, that called for an end to corruption, unemployment, and the provision of basic services. The protestors were met with excessive violence, tear gas canisters, and live ammunition.
Prior confessions from Nazar's fellow officers revealed that he had ordered police and security forces to fire live ammunition at protestors who had blocked the main passage of al-Zaytoon and al-Nasr bridges in Nasiriyah in November 2019.
He was arrested shortly after the documents were made public by End Impunity in Iraq, which works on raising awareness on Iraqi human rights violations.
Nazar is a member of Iraq’s Emergency Response Division (ERD), a special force branch that answers to the Iraqi interior ministry and had a leading role in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Mosul.
Earlier accusations of committing egregious crimes against civilians during the battle against ISIS have also plagued Nazar's reputation.
