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    Iraq: Intensifying Crackdown on Free Speech, Protests

    Iraq cracked down harshly during 2011 on freedom of expression and assembly by intimidating, beating, and detaining activists, demonstrators, and journalists, according to the Human Rights Watch World Report 2012.

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    • Iraq: Journalists Under Threat
      Sep 16 2011 - 14:33

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    Slide Show: Iraqi Kurdistan's Democratic Challenge
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  • Iraq Attacks "Atrocious"

    Attacks in more than a dozen cities across Iraq on August 15, 2011, are an atrocious assault on basic human rights. The attacks, the deadliest in Iraq this year, killed more than 70 people, including many unarmed civilians, as well as security forces.

    No one has publicly claimed responsibility for the blast to Human Rights Watch's knowledge, although Iraqi security officials have blamed affiliates of Al Qaeda.

    “These heinous attacks are an indefensible assault on Iraqis’ right to life,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

    The attacks took place in 17 cities. In the worst incident, two explosions in a market in Kut killed at least 37 and injured more than 50. In Tikrit, two suicide bombers detonated themselves with explosive–packed vests killing three policemen. In Diyala province, a series of attacks in Baquba and five other cities killed eight people and wounded 35. Separate explosions in Najaf, Kirkuk, Taji, Balad, Mosul, Ramadi, and Iskandiriyah killed 15 and wounded more than 100.

Reports

Iraq

  • Iraq: 65 Executions in First 40 Days of 2012
    Feb 9, 2012
    Iraqi authorities should halt all executions and abolish the death penalty. Since the beginning of 2012, Iraq has executed at least 65 prisoners, 51 of them in January, and 14 more on February 8, for various offenses.
  • Iraq: Intensifying Crackdown on Free Speech, Protests
    Jan 22, 2012

    Iraq cracked down harshly during 2011 on freedom of expression and assembly by intimidating, beating, and detaining activists, demonstrators, and journalists, according to the Human Rights Watch World Report 2012.

  • Iraq/MEK: Ensure Camp Residents’ Safety
    Dec 23, 2011
    All parties involved with the UN plan to resolve the situation of Camp Ashraf residents should work to make sure it is carried out safely and effectively, Human Rights Watch said today. Everyone involved, especially the Iraqi authorities and the Mojahedin-e Khalq organization, should guarantee the safe transfer of Camp Ashraf residents to a protected site for refugee status determinations.
  • Iraq: Deadly Bombings an Assault on Human Rights
    Dec 22, 2011

    A series of bombings in Iraq on December 22, 2011, are an atrocious assault on basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks, among the deadliest in Iraq this year, killed more than 60 people and injured 185, mainly civilians.

  • Iran/Turkey: Recent Attacks on Civilians in Iraqi Kurdistan
    Dec 20, 2011

    Iran and Turkey’s cross-border attacks in Iraqi Kurdistankilled more than a dozen civilians and displaced thousands between mid-July and November 2011, including in areas that did not appear to have military targets.

  • Letter to President Sarkozy on Camp Ashraf in Iraq
    Dec 16, 2011
    We are writing to you before the December 31 announced closure of Camp Ashraf (also known as Camp New Iraq) to urge the French government to take proactive steps to help prevent the stand-off between the Iraqi government and the leadership of the Mohjahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from deteriorating further at a critical moment in Iraq’s precarious transition to democratic rule. France has a unique role as host to the MEK leadership as well as good relations with the government of Iraq.
  • Letter to German Foreign Minister on Camp Ashraf in Iraq
    Dec 16, 2011
    We are writing to you before the December 31 announced closure of Camp Ashraf (also known as Camp New Iraq) to urge the government of Germany to take proactive steps to help prevent the stand-off between the Iraqi government and the leadership of the Mohjahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from deteriorating further at a critical moment in Iraq’s precarious transition to democratic rule.
  • Letter to Secretaries Clinton and Napolitano on Camp Ashraf in Iraq
    Dec 15, 2011
    We are writing to you before the December 31 announced closure of Camp Ashraf (also known as Camp New Iraq) to urge the US government to take proactive steps to prevent further deterioration in the stand-off between the Iraqi government and the leadership of the Mohjahedin-e Khalq (MEK). This confrontation risks becoming violent and a destabilizing factor as the US military leaves the country and Iraq continues its precarious transition to democratic rule.
  • Letter to Italian Foreign Minister on Camp Ashraf in Iraq
    Dec 15, 2011
    We are writing to you before the December 31 announced closure of Camp Ashraf (also known as Camp New Iraq) to urge the government of Italy to take proactive steps to help prevent the stand-off between the Iraqi government and the leadership of the Mohjahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from deteriorating further at a critical moment in Iraq’s precarious transition to democratic rule.
  • Letter to Swedish Foreign Minister on Camp Ashraf in Iraq
    Dec 15, 2011
    We are writing to you before the December 31 announced closure of Camp Ashraf (also known as Camp New Iraq) to urge the government of Sweden to take proactive steps to help prevent the stand-off between the Iraqi government and the leadership of the Mohjahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from deteriorating further at a critical moment in Iraq’s precarious transition to democratic rule.
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