Abd Alqudous Qasem Hussain Alhelfy
Abd Alqudous Alhelfy was an actor, director and human rights defender. He was one of the first leading actors in the protests in Maysan Governorate since 2011. Abd Alqudous established the October Theater in the middle of the protest camps in Maysan, and introduced many plays and theatre productions, which inluded themes and plot lines concerning human rights.
Iraqi human rights defenders are subjected to assassination, abduction, arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance. Iraq is considered an extremely dangerous country for human rights defenders, particularly with the ubiquity of armed groups who pose additional threats to obstruct their work.
Women human rights defenders have been subjected to smear campaigns on social media due to their participation in protests and have been specifically targeted for abduction and killing, particularly in the southern city of Basra.
Despite the appointment of a new government by the Iraqi Parliament in May 2020 in response to the protests, the administration has failed to protect human rights defenders. Several were assassinated in following months. Peaceful demonstrations continue, with human rights defenders putting their lives at risk to demand real change.
