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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Ali al-Mikdam, activist and journalist, was tortured by his kidnappers before they released him, according to a source close to him. The source said Mikdam was not freed by security forces, as has been reported.
Mikdam, 22, is an Iraqi activist who participated in the October 2019 protest movement and a campaign to end impunity that is planning demonstrations inside and outside the country for July 18. He was in Baghdad this week and went missing on Friday evening.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mikdam's kidnappers let him go, leaving him close to the al-Dora highway south of Baghdad. Mikdam made his way to the nearest security checkpoint where they brought him to hospital.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited Mikdam on Saturday night in hospital, checking “on the health of journalist and activist Ali al-Mikdam in one of Baghdad’s hospitals after security forces released him from his kidnappers,” the PM's office tweeted.
The source told Rudaw English on Sunday that “Ali was severely tortured, he cannot walk, and security forces don’t want us to say that he was not liberated by them."
Mikdam had to abandon his studies at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad and flee the city because of threats he was receiving. He went to Istanbul in 2020, then to the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil.
Recently, he wrote an article on assassinations of Iraqi activists for the Washington Institute. It has since been taken down. Mikdam's social media accounts have also been suspended. In one of the most recent videos on Facebook, Mikdam spoke out against impunity and Iraq's Iran-backed who are widely suspected to be behind the death of many activists and protest supporters.
Mikdam and his mother will hold a press conference in the near future to provide information about his kidnapping, the source said.
Social media accounts and Telegram channels affiliated with the militias claimed Mikdam's story of kidnapping is fabricated because he wants to seek asylum abroad, an assertion the source denied.
“If Ali had wanted to emigrate, he would not have returned by himself to Iraq and Baghdad. Ali would not and will not leave his country,” the source said.
UN Special Representative in Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert visited Mikdam on Sunday and condemned attacks on activists.
"Wishing journalist @ali_almikdam a speedy recovery. We salute his courage and determination, and condemn cowardly aggressions that threaten a pillar of democracy: freedom of expression,” Plasschaert tweeted.
Seventy-six activists and protestors have gone missing since the start of the October demonstrations in 2019, the High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq said in May. Only 58 have been found. And there have been 81 attempted assassinations of activists since the protests began, according to the commission. Thirty-four activists have been killed.
Militias backed by Iran, including factions of the Popular Mobilization forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi), are widely blamed and the parties responsible have yet to be held accountable.
Mikdam, 22, is an Iraqi activist who participated in the October 2019 protest movement and a campaign to end impunity that is planning demonstrations inside and outside the country for July 18. He was in Baghdad this week and went missing on Friday evening.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mikdam's kidnappers let him go, leaving him close to the al-Dora highway south of Baghdad. Mikdam made his way to the nearest security checkpoint where they brought him to hospital.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited Mikdam on Saturday night in hospital, checking “on the health of journalist and activist Ali al-Mikdam in one of Baghdad’s hospitals after security forces released him from his kidnappers,” the PM's office tweeted.
The source told Rudaw English on Sunday that “Ali was severely tortured, he cannot walk, and security forces don’t want us to say that he was not liberated by them."
Mikdam had to abandon his studies at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad and flee the city because of threats he was receiving. He went to Istanbul in 2020, then to the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil.
Recently, he wrote an article on assassinations of Iraqi activists for the Washington Institute. It has since been taken down. Mikdam's social media accounts have also been suspended. In one of the most recent videos on Facebook, Mikdam spoke out against impunity and Iraq's Iran-backed who are widely suspected to be behind the death of many activists and protest supporters.
Mikdam and his mother will hold a press conference in the near future to provide information about his kidnapping, the source said.
Social media accounts and Telegram channels affiliated with the militias claimed Mikdam's story of kidnapping is fabricated because he wants to seek asylum abroad, an assertion the source denied.
“If Ali had wanted to emigrate, he would not have returned by himself to Iraq and Baghdad. Ali would not and will not leave his country,” the source said.
UN Special Representative in Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert visited Mikdam on Sunday and condemned attacks on activists.
"Wishing journalist @ali_almikdam a speedy recovery. We salute his courage and determination, and condemn cowardly aggressions that threaten a pillar of democracy: freedom of expression,” Plasschaert tweeted.
Seventy-six activists and protestors have gone missing since the start of the October demonstrations in 2019, the High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq said in May. Only 58 have been found. And there have been 81 attempted assassinations of activists since the protests began, according to the commission. Thirty-four activists have been killed.
Militias backed by Iran, including factions of the Popular Mobilization forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi), are widely blamed and the parties responsible have yet to be held accountable.
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