Shafaq News

Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, Iraq’s identity-card system carried hidden layers of political classification. One of the most notorious was the “Red Card”—not a privilege, but a permanent mark of stigma.

Holding a red card meant being flagged as a political dissident, a security risk, or someone deemed disloyal to the regime. The consequences were far-reaching: constant surveillance, exclusion from basic rights, and long-term legal and social restrictions.

Who Were the Red Card Holders?

The group encompassed diverse categories of Iraqis who fell under the regime’s suspicion or repression. While no single law explicitly defined the “Red Card,” survivor accounts and reports highlight several categories:

-Political opponents or dissidents: Those who resisted or objected to Ba’athist policies—through protests, refusal to serve, or other acts of defiance.

-Military deserters or evaders: Men who fled or refused mandatory service, often branded as huroob (deserters) and punished severely.

-Victims of harsh punishment: Individuals subjected to torture, mutilation, imprisonment, or degrading penalties such as ear-cutting or branding.

-Forcibly discharged soldiers or conscripts: Those dismissed from service after imprisonment or punitive measures.

-Relatives of perceived opponents: Families of dissidents—including children, siblings, and spouses—often targeted through collective punishment.

What They Faced—And Still Face

The “Red Card” was not just a temporary sanction; it imposed lasting effects that extended beyond Saddam’s fall in 2003:

-Loss of civil rights: Exclusion from public sector jobs, higher education, and essential documents such as ration cards and travel permits.

-Open legal or military records: Many remain unable to claim retirement benefits or reinstatement because their files were never closed.

-Exclusion from compensation laws: Despite Iraq's passing legislation to compensate victims of Ba’athist abuses, red card holders often find themselves left out or delayed by bureaucracy.

Recent Developments and Parliamentary Promises

More than two decades after Saddam’s fall, red card holders say the stigma still follows them. Many—including those forced into the Iran-Iraq war or dispatched to fight in Afghanistan—remain without jobs, pensions, or access to education and travel.

They continue to call for the annulment of Revolutionary Command Council decisions, enforcement of Law No. 5 (amended in 2009), and pension reform.

Representatives of the group have repeatedly met with Iraq’s parliamentary legal committee to press for justice, demanding the cancellation of Revolutionary Command Council decrees and seeking both moral and financial compensation for decades of exclusion.

Lawmakers recently pledged to advance a special law to resolve their case, but many red card holders remain doubtful, pointing to earlier unfulfilled promises.