Amnesty International accused the Iraqi authorities of failing to take any action to protect demonstrators in Iraq, and said that this paved the way for the crushing of protests in this country.
The organization confirmed in a tweet on Twitter that "there is a fierce and growing campaign of harassment, intimidation, kidnapping and deliberate killing of activists and demonstrators in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities," adding that "the authorities' failure to take any action has paved the way for this campaign to crush the demonstrations in Iraq and spread terror in The souls of the protesters. "
A fierce and growing campaign of harassment, intimidation, kidnapping and deliberate killing of activists and demonstrators in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. The authorities' failure to take any action paved the way for this campaign to crush the demonstrations in Iraq and spread terror among the protesters. #Iraq_ is rising |
This comes days after the organization called on the Iraqi authorities to fulfill their responsibilities and take immediate and effective steps to end a deadly and growing campaign of harassment, intimidation, kidnapping and intentional killing of activists and demonstrators in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.
The organization collected testimonies of nine activists, demonstrators, and relatives of missing activists in Baghdad, Karbala, and Diwaniya, describing what is currently going on as a "campaign of terrorism" and "no one is safe from them", after a number of protesters and activists were killed or kidnapped and forcibly disappeared over the past period while Most of them were on their way home following their participation in the demonstrations, while others managed to escape following attempts to shoot them.
The campaign of intimidation, kidnapping and killing of demonstrators is increasing in most of the governorates of central and southern Iraq, which have been witnessing since the first of last October, a wave of protests calling for the "overthrow of the regime" that has killed nearly 460 people and injured more than 20,000.
A report on the demonstrations issued by the United Nations Mission in Iraq called on the authorities to stop targeting protesters and prosecute those involved.
In the report, the mission held "a third unknown entity", "armed entities", "outlaws" and "spoilers" responsible for "intentional killing, kidnapping and arbitrary detention."