ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Police officers in Dhi Qar province used tear gas and live bullets to disperse crowds demanding the release of detained protesters, an activist said on Saturday, a day after clashes with security forces resulted in dozens of injuries.
On Friday evening, dozens of people gathered in Dhi Qar’s provincial capital Nasiriyah as they had for the past week to demand the release of protesters who had been arrested for taking part in anti-government demonstrations on the fifth anniversary of the Tishreen (October) protests.
A demonstrator said the police used force to break up the protest.
“The clashes resulted in injuries among protesters. Tear gas was used in an attempt to stop the protests,” Zaid al-Assad, a Nasiriyah-based political activist, told Rudaw.
This week’s demonstrations are connected to the mass Tishreen protest movement of 2019 when mainly young people took to the streets and central city squares to demand economic and political reforms. Over 500 people were killed during weeks of protests. The Iraqi government has been criticized by human rights monitors for failing to investigate and prosecute security forces who used lethal force against the protesters.
“The story traces back to 2019, where many skirmishes occurred between the security forces and protesters, leading to numerous malicious lawsuits being filed against protesters,” Assad said.
Five years after the Tishreen protests, the security forces revived the dormant legal cases.
“In an attempt to gain momentum for their own interests, they have decided to use this time to settle scores and target the protesters,” Assad said.
According to the activist, around 1,600 lawsuits had been filed against protesters and Nasiriyah’s newly appointed police chief decided to pursue the cases and arrest the protesters.
The security forces started a widespread crackdown and arrested “around 200 people within five days,” according to Assad.
Dhi Qar police said in a statement on Friday that protesters “attacked” them, and 22 members of security forces were injured.
The police said that they support the people’s constitutional right to protest but rebuked “some rioters who attacked the force tasked with protecting the demonstration.”
A demonstrator who participated in Friday’s protests said that clashes broke out when the police tried to stop them from entering a square in central Nasiriyah.
“Security forces tried to prevent us from reaching Haboubi Square, but after clashes that caused injuries, we managed to reach the square." Ahmed al-Rikabi told Rudaw.
“We came out to demand the release of the detainees and to stop the persecution of activists,” he said.
“None of us took to the streets for personal interests, nor did anyone raise any personal demands. All the stories circling are attempts to demonize our legitimate demands and cover up the wrongdoings committed by the political system and its affiliates against us,” Rikabi said.
Rudaw reached out to the Dhi Qar police department and the interior ministry for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
Abdullah Salam contributed to this report
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