Amnesty demands investigation into 643 missing Iraqis

Amnesty International has demanded an investigation be launched into the fate of 643 men and women kidnapped by the Popular Mobilisation Forces in the Iraqi town of Saqlawiyah in the western province of Anbar in 2016.

The organisation said the kidnapping took place during military operations to restore the city of Fallujah, the largest city in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province, and the surrounding area from Daesh’s control.

“On the morning of 3 June 2016, thousands of men, women and children who fled Saqlawiyah in the eastern part of the province encountered armed men from the Popular Crowd,” it said, based on testimonies of former abductees, witnesses and relatives of the disappeared.

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The militants “separated about 1,300 men and older children and then transferred them to abandoned buildings, garages and shops in the nearby area, confiscated their personal documents, telephones and valuables, and then arrested them,” it explained.

At sunrise the next day, several buses arrived transporting a section of the detainees, whose fate is still unknown.

The report pointed out that those who remained were exposed to torture, deprivation of food and water and the use of sanitation facilities.

Survivors reported being beaten all over their bodies and heads using cables, metal pipes, shovels and wooden sticks while many died as a result of torture.

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On 5 June 2016, the office of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider Al-Abadi, formed a committee to investigate enforced disappearances and abuses in the context of military operations to restore Fallujah. Local authorities in Anbar have also formed a commission of inquiry which published its findings on 11 June, citing the disappearance of 643 men and women from the Saqlawiyah area. The commission submitted its findings to the prime minister for further investigation and to take appropriate action.

In a report published on 18 October 2016, Amnesty International expressed its concern at Baghdad’s leniency in taking measures to protect victims and witnesses, especially because the government-appointed committee includes security agencies that may be involved in the abuses.

The organisation said it has repeatedly called on the authorities to disclose the whereabouts of the disappeared and to ensure that the investigations into allegations of torture and violations are “comprehensive, fair and independent”, to disclose their findings and hold those involved accountable regardless of rank or authority.