Iraq
Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces advance toward Tal Afar, Iraq. August 22, 2017. Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A United States commission for religious freedom on Wednesday called for “targeted sanctions” against Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) militia network, as they continue to commit “heinous violations” against ethnic and religious communities in Iraq.
The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report published Wednesday placed Iraq on the special watch list for countries of concern as “religious freedom conditions in Iraq remained poor” in 2020.
“Renewed fear of persecution is growing among these communities amid lingering potential for a re-emergence of [Islamic State] ISIS or ISIS like groups,” said the report, adding that Iran-backed militias operating under PMF “continued their constant harassment of religious and ethnic minorities, especially in northern Iraq, making the improvement of religious freedom conditions more difficult.”
The PMF “operated with impunity” in Sinjar and Nineveh Plains in 2020, “committing heinous violations against these long-suffering communities,” USCIRF said.
They urged the US government to sanction more PMF leaders involved in “severe violations of religious freedom in Iraq” by freezing their assets and barring their entry into the US.
The US in January imposed sanctions on PMF leaders Falih al-Fayyadh and Abd al-Aziz Malluh Mirjirash al-Mohammedawi, also known as Abu Fadak for “acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries.”
The PMF was established in 2014 following a fatwa – of religious call to action – from Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
When ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, many liberated areas fell under the control of the PMF. This includes a number of groups widely considered proxies to implement Iran’s political and military interests in Iraq, who have been accused of human rights violations.
Although the PMF has been brought under the umbrella of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and measures have been taken to fully integrate the units into Iraq’s official military apparatus, many continue to act independently.
The USCIRF called on the US government to pressure Iraqi “to implement its own stated policy to rein in the PMF,” especially those known to engage in sectarian violence and “present specific obstacles” to the return of IDPs and refugees, and those which “intervene against” protests in Iraq on behalf of Iranian interests.
An annual human rights report released by the US State Department in January accused the Iraqi government of negligence in protecting its citizens and failing to take serious action against Iran-backed militias “engaged in killing, kidnapping, and extortion throughout the country, in 2020, the report said, adding that "Baghdad did not keep a tight grip on security forces."
An excessive amount of money at checkpoints where PMF or Iranian-backed PMF groups are present were demanded from refugees and IDPs “to cross or risk being sent back to the camps,” according to the USCIRF report.
The PMF was also accused of preventing the “return and rehabilitation” of the displaced people in the watchdog’s report in last year's report.
Iraq is a Muslim-majority country, with a predominantly Shiite population in the center and south and a smaller Sunni population in the north and west. The country has been wracked by sectarian conflict since the US removed Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. Around 200,000 Christians remain in Iraq, according to the report.
The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report published Wednesday placed Iraq on the special watch list for countries of concern as “religious freedom conditions in Iraq remained poor” in 2020.
“Renewed fear of persecution is growing among these communities amid lingering potential for a re-emergence of [Islamic State] ISIS or ISIS like groups,” said the report, adding that Iran-backed militias operating under PMF “continued their constant harassment of religious and ethnic minorities, especially in northern Iraq, making the improvement of religious freedom conditions more difficult.”
The PMF “operated with impunity” in Sinjar and Nineveh Plains in 2020, “committing heinous violations against these long-suffering communities,” USCIRF said.
They urged the US government to sanction more PMF leaders involved in “severe violations of religious freedom in Iraq” by freezing their assets and barring their entry into the US.
The US in January imposed sanctions on PMF leaders Falih al-Fayyadh and Abd al-Aziz Malluh Mirjirash al-Mohammedawi, also known as Abu Fadak for “acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries.”
The PMF was established in 2014 following a fatwa – of religious call to action – from Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
When ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, many liberated areas fell under the control of the PMF. This includes a number of groups widely considered proxies to implement Iran’s political and military interests in Iraq, who have been accused of human rights violations.
Although the PMF has been brought under the umbrella of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and measures have been taken to fully integrate the units into Iraq’s official military apparatus, many continue to act independently.
The USCIRF called on the US government to pressure Iraqi “to implement its own stated policy to rein in the PMF,” especially those known to engage in sectarian violence and “present specific obstacles” to the return of IDPs and refugees, and those which “intervene against” protests in Iraq on behalf of Iranian interests.
An annual human rights report released by the US State Department in January accused the Iraqi government of negligence in protecting its citizens and failing to take serious action against Iran-backed militias “engaged in killing, kidnapping, and extortion throughout the country, in 2020, the report said, adding that "Baghdad did not keep a tight grip on security forces."
An excessive amount of money at checkpoints where PMF or Iranian-backed PMF groups are present were demanded from refugees and IDPs “to cross or risk being sent back to the camps,” according to the USCIRF report.
The PMF was also accused of preventing the “return and rehabilitation” of the displaced people in the watchdog’s report in last year's report.
Iraq is a Muslim-majority country, with a predominantly Shiite population in the center and south and a smaller Sunni population in the north and west. The country has been wracked by sectarian conflict since the US removed Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. Around 200,000 Christians remain in Iraq, according to the report.
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