ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -A court in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh has issued an arrest warrant for Murad Ismael, a renowned Yazidi activist, on charges of "insulting" the migration minister. Ismael told Rudaw English on Thursday that he believes the move is politically motivated.
A court in Mosul, located in Nineveh province, issued an arrest warrant on March 24 based on a complaint filed by the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement. The ministry accused the prominent Yazidi activist, Murad Ismael, of "insulting" the complainant.
Ismael, who hails from the Shingal (Sinjar) district in Nineveh province but is based in the US, told Rudaw English that he had not received any court summons to defend himself before the arrest warrant was issued. He argued that this was a breach of standard procedure, which typically involves at least two additional steps: notifying the individual about the case and requesting their attendance in person.
He noted that he was “surprised by this move by the judiciary. While I have disagreed with the ministry and the minister herself [Evan Faeq Jabro] on several occasions with respect to their failure in the Yazidi IDPs [internally displaced persons] file and have made statements in this regard, I have not crossed the limits of professional criticism,” he stated.
“I believe this is politically motivated on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is an attempt to silence critics, like myself, who expose the many issues this ministry has. I heard unofficially that others are targeted too, but I am not sure about it,” he added.
Rudaw English reached out to the federal ministry but has yet to receive a response.
Hours after Ismael reported the warrant on X, the Iraqi ministry said in a post on Facebook that the Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani had approved her request to exempt Yazidi women from age and grade requirements for higher education admissions.
“This is considered an important step in supporting their education and integrating them into society,” it noted.
However, she has not yet commented on the court ruling.
Ismael is the co-founder and president of Sinjar Academy, which describes itself as a US-based non-profit organization and educational institution aiming to provide higher education services to the people of the Yazidi heartland, Shingal.
Free Yezidi Foundation (FYF), another Yazidi organization which provides education and other support to Yazidi survivors of the Islamic State (ISIS) atrocities, condemned the arrest warrant, accusing the Iraqi ministry of being “one of WORST ministries” since 2003.
“Instead of helping internally displaced, they have politicized the process. The Ministry should prepare lawsuits against every #Yezidi #Yazidi activist because we would NEVER let this outrage stand,” it added.
In its assault on Shingal in 2014, ISIS militants abducted 6,417 Yazidi women and children, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Although the group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, it continues to pose a security risk.
Thousands of Yazidis remain displaced in the Kurdistan Region. Lack of security and basic services in Shingal has discouraged them from returning to their homes.
Ismael believes that the arrest warrant is not an isolated event, adding that the minister and “those of back her” have tried to dominate the Yazidi dossier in the Iraqi government have “succeeded to a certain degree.” He noted that some people had told him he is being targeted as a “preemptive move” to prevent him from running in upcoming parliamentary elections, slated for November 11.
The activist fears that the ministry's actions could put his life at risk, even if he is not arrested. He explained that "the political and security situation in Sinjar and Iraq, in general, is unstable, and being portrayed as a target of the judiciary can put a person in real danger, especially when critics are already under pressure."
