Chief Justice directs legal action on assassination of Sadrist activist, Ayser Al-Khafaji

Shafaq News / Judge Faiq Zidan, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council, instructed on Tuesday that necessary legal steps be taken in response to the death of Sadrist activist Ayser Al-Khafaji.

According to a Supreme Judicial Council statement, Judge Zidan directed the competent investigative court to take appropriate legal actions in cooperation with the investigative body at the Ministry of Interior, which is in charge of investigating Ayser Al-Khafaji's assassination, emphasizing the importance of promptly revealing the perpetrators and bringing them to justice per the law

Ayser Al-Khafaji, a Sadrist Movement activist, was kidnapped in Babil governorate on February 18 and found dead the next day.

Following his abduction, tensions in Babil rose, prompting the deployment of Saraya Al-Salam militants (the Sadrist Movement's military wing) led by Muqtada Al-Sadr.

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior later clarified the circumstances surrounding Al-Khafaji's death as "a hit-and-run accident in Babil," implying that lawless elements were aiming to undermine stability.

According to the ministry, "A group of lawless individuals ran over a citizen in front of his house in Abi Gharq district, Al-Hillah city, and abducted him to an unknown location. A specialized squad inside the Babil Police Command launched an investigation and discovered the victim's body the following morning on the highway in the Jabla district."

On February 22, Muqtada Al-Sadr announced that he is personally following up on Al-Khafaji's assassination case.

Following Al-Khafaji's assassination in Babil, Al-Sadr warned his Movement supporters against "sedition" and cooperation in "the actions of corrupt militias."