A 16-year-old departed on Thursday. He, like thousands of others, would take part in the protests that have raged for over two months now. His destination was the birthplace of the Iraqi protests Tahrir Square in the capital Baghdad.

Four days have passed since then and the 16-year-old has not yet returned home.

"Government bears responsibility"

The human rights organization Human Rights Watch has data on more disappearances - seven people say they have disappeared since October 7. There are still no traces of four of them.

The 16-year-old's father has looked at three police stations but has neither received any information nor the opportunity to submit a report, HRW writes in a report. Many testify about the same attitude and feel helpless.

- Whether it is the authorities or armed groups behind these disappearances in Baghdad, the government bears responsibility for people's security, says Sarah Leah Whitson at HRW in a press release.

The bloodiest week

Over 420 people have lost their lives in the protests that have spread to several places in the country, where last week became particularly bloody and violent.

Several protesters have also been shot to death by tear gas containers large as soft drinks cans, the BBC reports. This has provoked disgust where many take to social media and post pictures of themselves and objects that correspond to the size of these containers.

Police are sentenced to hang

Iraqi leaders have promised to punish those who resort to unnecessary violence, although in many of the cases mentioned, it is not possible to prove who is behind either the shelling or the kidnapping.

However, on Sunday, a first verdict came. A policeman was sentenced to death for having killed protesters. The man has been sentenced to hang, writes news agency AFP. Another policeman has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi's resignation application was approved by Parliament on Sunday and now the country is awaiting a new government.