Iraq frees defendants in activist Sajjad Al-Iraqi killing

Shafaq News– Dhi Qar

The Iraqi judiciary has ordered the release of two defendants previously sentenced in absentia in the killing of Sajjad al-Iraqi, a civil activist involved in the October 2019 uprising, a judicial source told Shafaq News on Monday.

The source said the Dhi Qar Criminal Court reopened the case and completed retrial procedures, during which it heard the defendants’ statements and legal defense, with both denying any involvement in the abduction or killing.

Following its review, the court ruled that the evidence presented was insufficient for conviction and ordered their release under Article 421 of Iraq’s Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, as amended.

In 2023, the court had issued death sentences in absentia against two individuals convicted of kidnapping and killing al-Iraqi, who disappeared on September 20, 2020, in Dhi Qar after being taken at gunpoint by unknown assailants.

The case is linked to the nationwide October 2019 protests —known as the Tishreen uprising— which spread across central and southern Iraq, demanding jobs, public services, accountability, and an end to corruption and foreign interference, ultimately leading to the resignation of the government headed by Adil Abdul-Mahdi. According to official figures, more than 600 protesters were killed and thousands injured or detained during the crackdown that followed.

Read more: Iraq’s protests after Tishreen: A system that learned how to contain the street