Iraq sentences security officer to life imprisonment for killing protesters

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced a top security official to life in prison, accused of suppressing demonstrators during the 2019 protests and being directly involved in the events that led to the killing of at least 30 protesters in Dhi Qar province.

Omar Nazar, a lieutenant colonel of Iraq's Emergency Response Division (ERD), was arrested in February 2022 after written confessions from his fellow officers surfaced revealing that he had ordered the police and security forces to fire live ammunition at the protestors who had blocked the main thoroughfare of al-Nasr and al-Zaytoon bridges in Iraq’s Nasiriyah city in November of 2019.

At least 30 protestors were killed and over 200 were injured in one night, marking the al-Zaytoon massacre.

Dhi Qar’s criminal court sentenced Nazar to life imprisonment for the murder of Mustafa Ahmad, a 19-year-old protester, “and his group,” as well as wounding several other protesters, according to a document seen by Rudaw English.

“Many young people were killed based on his orders,” Mohammad al-Taei, an activist and participant of the 2019 protests told Rudaw’s Hemin Baban, adding “all criminals and those who opened fire against the protesters must be punished.”

Dozens of families had filed complaints against Nazar, leading to his prosecution. His arrest was commended by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) last year, calling it a “critical moment” and an “important first step” towards accountability.

The ERD is 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 of 2015 as there was “credible information” that it was committing gross violations of human rights.

Iraq’s youth led thousands towards nationwide demonstrations on October 1, 2019, - later to be titled the Tishreen movement - protesting the country’s poor economic conditions, unemployment, foreign interference, and overall corruption.

The Tishreen protesters were met with live bullets, teargas, battery, and other forms of brutality from Iraqi security actors trying to control the situation and disperse the demonstrations. Over 500 people were killed and more than 20 thousand others were wounded during the protests.

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