Two people were killed by security forces in southern Iraq on Wednesday during a protest against a prison sentence given to an activist over a Twitter post.
Hayder Al Zaidi, 20, was convicted by a court in Baghdad of criticising state-sanctioned militia and sentenced to three years in prison.
Troops opened fire on hundreds of protesters in Nasiriyah, who had taken to the streets after the verdict was announced.
The protesters chanted anti-government slogans, according to an AFP correspondent.
“Two protesters were shot dead” in the clashes and 21 others were wounded, including five by gunfire, said Hussein Riyad, a spokesman for the Dhi Qar provincial health ministry.
Mr Riyad said a police officer was among those wounded.
Zaidi, who was active in mass anti-government protests that began in October 2019, has said he did not write the post on Twitter that led to his conviction.
He was charged under a law that forbids publicly insulting any government institution or official.
The tweet in question, posted in January on Zaidi’s account, showed a picture of Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, the former deputy commander of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary groups.
Muhandis was killed in a US strike in January 2020 that also killed Gen Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
The social media post mocked his designation as a “martyr” by many in Iraq and described him as an “agent spy.”
Al Zaidi was arrested over the tweet in June and released after 16 days on bail. He said his account was hacked.
“Regardless of who posted the Twitter message, the Iraqi justice system should not be used as a tool to suppress peaceful criticism of the authorities or armed actors,” said Human Rights Watch deputy Middle East director, Adam Coogle.
He said the harsh sentence given to Al Zaidi was a “sad reflection on the rule of law in Iraq” given that “dozens of officials and armed groups enjoy impunity for killing activists and protesters.”
Agencies contributed to this report
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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