SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Hundreds of Iraqis protested in Baghdad on Tuesday against the killing of activists and protesters in the country.
The protesters gathered in Tahrir, al-Firdaws and al-Nasour squares in the Iraqi capital, as thousands are expected to turn out to demand accountability for the killing of dozens of prominent activists and protesters in recent months.
Anti-riot police and army troops were also deployed in the capital’s main intersections and squares, ahead of the planned protesters.
The demonstrators called on the Iraqi government to detain perpetrators who killed activists and protesters in the past months and bring them to justice.
Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement that the security forces had detained four “infiltrators” carrying weapons near Tahrir Square.
“They tried to penetrate the front lines and cause a kind of riot and chaos during the protests,” it added.
A wave of attacks on activists and journalists in Iraq has sparked mounting calls to boycott early parliamentary elections scheduled for October 10.
Killings, attempted murder and abductions have targeted more than 70 activists since a protest movement erupted against government corruption and incompetence in 2019.
Elections were set in response to a central demand of the protected protest movement that lasted from October to June 2020, and during which protesters also rallied against Iran’s influence in Iraq.
Authorities have consistently failed to publicly identify or charge the perpetrators of the killings, which have not been claimed. Activists have repeatedly blamed Iran-linked armed groups that wield considerable influence in Iraq.
