Iraq
Mourners react as they march during a funerary procession for Iraqi anti-government activist Ihab al-Wazni in Karbala, Iraq on May 9, 2021. Photo: Mohammed Sawaf/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A member of the Iraqi Parliament's Security and Defense Committee said on Monday the government should institute the control of deadly weapons and warned of election interference, after attacks on a journalist and an activist in the country.
"The government should institute legislation over the control of weapons and if this remains outside the scope of the state, it will be difficult to hold elections," MP and Security and Defense Committee member Badr al-Ziyadi told the Iraqi State News Agency (INA) on Monday.
"Not only that, but there will be military operations and assassinations," he added. "Outlawed weapons will affect the transparency of the elections."
Ziyadi said Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has held meetings in order to enact laws to limit weapons. Iraqi security forces last year held a campaign to seize unlicensed firearms.
But, shooting deaths of Iraqi activists continue. Activist leader Ihab al-Wazni was shot dead near his home in the city of Karbala on Sunday, bringing hundreds of protestors to the streets. A day later, there was an attempted assassination of Iraqi journalist Ahmed Hassan. He was hit with two bullets to the head and is, at the time of writing, in intensive care.
The Embassy of the Netherlands to Iraq warned on Monday, "no free and fair elections if freedom of speech is not guaranteed for everyone," in a statement condemning the murder of Wazni. The embassy added in a tweet that they "strongly urge the Iraqi authorities to protect these voices" and to "hold the perpetrators of violence to account."
Dozens of activists have been assassinated since the beginning of anti-government protests in 2019. Some have been kidnapped and tortured. The suspected groups have often acted with impunity with investigations yielding limited results. Many have accused Iranian-backed Shiite militias of being behind the deaths.
There have been 81 attempted assassinations of activists since the anti-government protest movement began in October 2019, according to Ali al-Bayati, a member of the Iraqi High Commission of Human Rights. Thirty-four activists have been killed.
Some activists and journalists have called for a campaign to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections in October, stating the elections will suffer from corruption and be overtaken by the militias.
"Insisting on accountability for murders like that of Ihab Al-Wazni is not a hollow call. Killers challenge the state, threaten and bully Iraqi society, and sabotage the political course of the entire country," EU Ambassador to Iraq Martin Huth said in a tweet on Monday.
Kadhimi said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday that the assassins of Wazni were deeply involved in the crime and added revenge will be taken against those who "tamper with public security," according to INA.
The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq will hold a briefing with the UN Security Council on Tuesday over the recent developments.
Iraq will hold parliamentary elections in October.
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