Father of kidnapped activist Ali Jaseb assassinated in Maysan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The father of activist Ali Jaseb, kidnapped in October 2019, was assassinated in Maysan province on Wednesday, activists have confirmed to Rudaw English. 

Two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead Jaseb Hattab while he was walking back to his house, in the provincial capital of Amarah, from a memorial for another activist killed last year, activists said.

He had regularly spoken out against militias he accused of kidnapping his son Ali, a 29-year-old lawyer and father of two children.

Ansarullah al-Awfyya’a, a powerful Iranian-backed militia part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) in Maysan, is suspected to be behind Ali's abduction and the death of his father.

“Factions affiliated with al Hashd al-Shaabi in Maysan are behind my son’s abduction,” Jaseb said on TV repeatedly, accusing Ansarullah al-Awfyya’a of kidnapping Ali. 

“My son’s case is a case of public opinion, and I will never give it up,” Hattab said in a video shared by Dijlah TV. “If he is dead, I would like to see his grave and visit it. My request is simple.”

Maysan Police Directorate announced on Facebook that it had arrested five suspects over Hattab's death, and that preliminary investigations indicated he was killed due to “a tribal conflict.”

The post was later deleted.

Later, they announced that one suspect had been caught, without giving further details.

Hattab met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in September, who promised to work on Ali’s case. He wanted to transfer his son’s case from Maysan to Baghdad and request an arrest warrant against Haidar al-Gharawi, commander of Ansarullah al Awfyya’a in Maysan.

“I lost what was most valuable to me, so I’ve got nothing else to lose.” he told AP. “ I can’t be silent.”

He said said he told Kadhimi that the Awfya’a militia was behind the kidnapping of his son.

“Kadhimi was shocked. He put his hand on his chest and promised he would deliver him to me."

“Despite the Prime Minister’s promise to investigate his whereabouts, there continues to be lack of progress in his case, now compounded by repeated threats to the family,” Amnesty International said in November.

Activists are often threatened, kidnapped and killed for their involvement in the protest movement. Hardline units of the Iran-backed PMF are widely accused of killing many protesters and voices of dissent.

At least 600 protesters and members of the security forces were killed and more than 18,000 injured since the protest movement emerged, Amnesty International said in January 2020.

Dozens of Iraqis were killed in the protests with guns or tear gas canisters. Others were assassinated, like security analyst and government advisor Husham al-Hashimi, who was killed in front of his house in July.

"We know who killed Husham, for example, but we cannot pursue them," a source previously told AFP, saying his assassins were linked to powerful paramilitary groups.

“If the government can’t deliver justice to someone like al-Hashimi, then who is Ali Jasb to them?” Hasab Wahab of the al-Amel Association rights group told AP. 

Kadhimi has repeatedly pledged to hold the killers accountable, but there had been no arrests or public trials, apart from the arrest of four members of the “death squad” in the southern city of Basra on suspicion of being behind a series of assassinations of activists and journalists in the province.

Several other activists nationwide, including women, have been assassinated or have survived attempts on their lives. Most of the slain activists and journalists had criticized Iran's influence in Iraq, including the deadly role played by Tehran-backed militias. 

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