A Baghdad court has sentenced six protesters to death after convicting them of lynching a teenager in one of Baghdad’s protest encampments last year.
Leaderless protests erupted in Iraq in October 2019 against endemic corruption, soaring unemployment and poor public services. Demonstrators also demanded an overhaul of the political system, which has been in place since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Thousands of protesters blocked the main streets, squares and commercial areas during the months-long campaign in Baghdad and other cities in central and southern parts of the country.
For days, 16-year old Haitham Ali Ismael had been trying to convince the protesters not to obstruct the street near his family home in Baghdad’s Wathba Square, but to no avail.
Armed with a pistol, Mr Ismael fired on the protesters from his house roof in a bid to shoo them away, police said.
The protesters claim they thought he was a member of security forces or a militia.
They broke into his house, stabbed him and dragged his bleeding body into the street before hanging him by his ankles from a traffic light pole and cutting his throat.
An official document issued by the court detailing the ruling was widely circulated by local media. The six convictions include one female protester, who was also sentenced to death. A court official confirmed the ruling, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with local regulations.
Meanwhile, the protesters have distanced themselves from the perpetrators.
"They are not protesters like us," activist Ahmed Khaldoun told The National. "Those are infiltrators paid by parties to defame the protests and their peaceful means," Mr Khaldoun added.
Like many activists, Mr Khaldoun has fled Baghdad to the northern Kurdish region due to threats against his life.
“The judiciary system has to investigate the killings of the protesters and bring those responsible before justice,” he added.
At least 560 protesters and members of security forces have been killed, while thousands of others were wounded up to July 30 according to government statistics released on July 30.
Some activists were kidnapped and killed outside the protest encampments that lined the road leading up to Tahrir Square.
Former prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, who was forced to resign a few weeks after the protests began, denied ordering the use of lethal ammunition and blamed a “third party” for the killings.
The current prime minister, Mustafa Al Kadhimi, promised a thorough investigation into the violence against protesters after his government was installed in early May.
Last month, Mr Al Kadhimi announced that the first stage - of listing the names of victims - had been completed, and on Sunday he formed a five-judge committee to investigate the killings.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RIVER%20SPIRIT
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
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Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
