Iraq
Iraqi security officer Omar Nazar (left). Photo: Sally Bachori/Twitter. Large-scale demonstrations in Iraq on October 2, 2019 (right). Photo: End Impunity in Iraq (EII)
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi court on Tuesday initiated the legal process of trying an officer from an elite unit of the country’s security forces on charges of suppressing demonstrators, after previous documents shed light on his direct involvement in events that led to the murder of at least 30 protestors in southern Iraq.
Omar Nazar, the perpetrator, has been accused of deadly atrocities committed against protestors amid massive protests that erupted in southern Iraq almost three years ago, demanding widespread reform and change. He was arrested earlier this month for committing atrocities against civilians.
On Tuesday, in an initial case heard in Nasiriyah Investigation Court, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council granted the arrest of Nazar “on charges of suppressing demonstrators," state media reported, citing his involvement in the horrific massacre that transpired on al-Zaytoon Bridge in the city of Nasiriyah, southern Iraq.
Prior confessions from Nazar's fellow officers revealed that Nazar had ordered police and security forces to fire live ammunition at protestors who had blocked the main passage of al-Zaytoon and al-Nasr bridges in Nasiriyah in November 2019.
Nazar is a lieutenant colonel of Iraq's Emergency Response Division (ERD), a special force branch that answers to the Iraqi interior ministry and had a leading role in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Mosul.
The unit was blacklisted by the US in March 2015 following "credible information" that it was committing flagrant violations of human rights, ABC News reported.
Earlier accusations of committing egregious crimes against civilians during the battle against ISIS have also plagued Nazar's reputation.
Around three years ago, Iraqis took to the streets in large-scale protests, dubbed the Tishreen (October) movement, that called for an end to corruption, unemployment, and the provision of basic services. The protestors were met with excessive violence, tear gas canisters, and live ammunition.
Demonstrators, activists, and journalists have been targeted since the emergence of the protests, and their killers have often acted with impunity as investigations yield disappointing results.
According to a United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) statement two years ago, at least 487 protestors were killed and over 7,000 were injured during the protests.
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