Iraq: Security Forces Fire on Protesters | WPN World People News

Iraq’s security forces fired on and beat protesters in Basra governorate during a series of protests from July 8 to 17, 2018, Human Rights Watch said on Jul 24, 2018. The largely Interior Ministry forces used apparent excessive and unnecessary lethal force against protests over water, jobs, and electrical power that at times turned violent. At least three demonstrators were killed and at least 47 wounded, including two children who were shot and one who was beaten with rifle butts.

Human Rights Watch investigated eight protests, in six of which security forces allegedly fired live ammunition, wounding at least seven protesters. They also threw rocks and beat at least 47 people, including 29 during or after arrest. Witnesses said that in five protests, demonstrators threw rocks, gasoline bombs, and burning tires at the security forces. Since July 14, authorities have severely limited internet access across much of central and southern Iraq.

“The Iraqi authorities need to credibly and impartially investigate the apparent excessive use of lethal force in Basra, even where protests turned violent,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “So long as the government fails to address protester grievances, the danger of further bloody protests remains real.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed 13 people on July 18 and 19 who said they participated in the Basra protests, including three activists, four relatives of two seriously injured protesters, three journalists, and Jabar al-Saidi, the security committee chief of the Basra Provincial Council.

Protesters said they had three main demands. They want improved access to desalinated water since Basra’s potable water is heavily salinized during the summer and getting worse each year; they want the government to address Basra’s high rate of unemployment in the oil and other industries; and they want increased access to electricity particularly during the hot summer months.

The protesters acknowledged commitments that Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and other authorities made on July 14 and 17 to allocate funds for desalination, improve access to electricity and health care, and create thousands of new jobs, but said they would only stop protesting once effective action was taken.

They said that the protests in Basra governorate began on July 10 at the oil field near the town of al-Qurna, 75 kilometers northwest of Basra City, and spread quickly to other areas of Basra, including the oil fields of al-Burjisiya and Rumaili, and throughout Basra City. Protests then spread elsewhere in Iraq, including to Babil, Baghdad, Dhi Kar, Karbala, Missan, Muthanna, and Najaf, as widely reported in the media. Human Rights Watch could not confirm allegations of arbitrary arrests, deaths, and injuries at the protests outside of Basra during that period, nor incidents in Basra and elsewhere after July 17. As this report was being finalized, Human Rights Watch received information that unidentified assailants fatally shot lawyer Jabbar Mohammed Karam al-Bahadli, who was petitioning for the release of those detained in the protests, on July 23 in Basra City in a drive-by attack.

Witnesses identified and provided photos and videos of the Interior Ministry’s anti-riot police, federal police, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) forces, Strike Force Brigade (Liwa al-Quwa al-Thariba), and oil facilities police, all identifiable by their uniforms, policing the protests. They said they observed these security forces beating numerous protesters with wooden, plastic, and metal sticks and pipes to disperse the crowds. In two incidents, they said, security forces beat protesters in custody and a journalist conducting an interview.

These security forces along with members of the Badr Organization, part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, fired on protesters at six of the eight protests investigated, witnesses said. Human Rights Watch documented the deaths of at least two protesters from gunfire. The authorities confirmed both these deaths and a third.

Witnesses said that the 47 injured protesters had been beaten or hit with rocks and gunfire. One protester said he saw a protester hit by a Humvee armored vehicle that was chasing him. Two men are still in comas from serious head injuries caused by the security forces. With the exception of the protests at al-Qurna oil field, protesters and journalists said they did not hear any warning before security forces opened fire or used teargas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.

All 13 witnesses said they saw some protesters throw rocks at the security forces. One saw a Molotov cocktail (gasoline bomb) and another witnessed gunfire directed at security forces.

Al-Saidi, the provincial council security committee chief, said that as of July 19, security forces had killed three protesters and wounded 12, including through gunfire and teargas inhalation, and that protesters had wounded at least 10 security force members. He said that police had arrested and were still detaining at least 70 protesters, including at least two children, who will be charged with damaging government property and attacking security forces. As of July 19, none had been released or charged.

Iraqi security forces engaged in law enforcement duties should strictly abide by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The Basic Principles state that law enforcement officials should apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force. Whenever the use of force is unavoidable, they must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. Law enforcement officials may use firearms only to prevent the imminent threat of death or serious injury; the intentional lethal use of firearms can only be used to disperse violent protests when strictly unavoidable to protect life.

National and Basra provincial authorities should credibly, impartially and transparently investigate the use of force by the security forces in the Basra Governorate. Security force members, including commanders, responsible for the unlawful use of excessive or lethal force should be disciplined or prosecuted as appropriate. Victims of unlawful use of force by the security forces should receive prompt and adequate compensation.

Since July 14, Iraqi authorities have blocked access to the internet in much of central and southern Iraq, including to social media and messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook. International human rights law protects the right of people to freely seek, receive, and provide information through all media, including the internet. Security-related restrictions must be law-based and a necessary and proportionate response to a specific security concern.

“Blocking internet access to people in southern Iraq not only denies them their right to exchange information, but can put people in danger,” Whitson said. “The authorities should urgently lift all internet restrictions except where specific security concerns require such a response.”

Source:Human Rights Watch