• Iraq: Investigate Death of VP’s Bodyguard in Custody
    Press release
    Mar 23, 2012
    Iraqi authorities should order a criminal investigation into allegations that security forces tortured to death a bodyguard of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.
  • Iraq: Investigate ‘Emo’ Attacks
    Press release
    Mar 16, 2012

    The government of Iraq should immediately investigate and bring to justice those responsible for a targeted campaign of intimidation and violence against Iraqi youth seen as belonging to the non-conformist “emo” subculture, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said today. The attacks have created an atmosphere of terror among those who see themselves as potential victims. 

  • Letter to Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Regarding December 2012 Netherlands Country Report on Iraq
    Letter
    Mar 8, 2012
    While Human Rights Watch appreciates your government’s discussion of Iraqis identifying as LGBT in the report, we are concerned that the section downplays the severe challenges and risks faced by the LGBT community in Iraq.
  • Iraq: Intimidation at Anniversary Protests
    Press release
    Mar 1, 2012
    Uniformed security forces clamped down on demonstrations marking February 2012 anniversaries of the start of weekly protests in Iraq. Security forces blocked access to protest sites in Baghdad; beat and arrested peaceful demonstrators in Sulaimaniya, Kurdistan; and briefly detained, beat, or confiscated equipment from media workers and prevented others from covering the protests.
  • Iraq: 65 Executions in First 40 Days of 2012
    Press release
    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
    Press release
    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
    Press release
    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
    Press release
    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
    Press release
    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
    Letter
    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.