Ihab Jawad Mohammed Alwazny
Ihab Alwazny was a prominent activist in the civil protest movement in Iraq since 2011. He was the head of the Coordinating Committee of the protests in Karbala on several occassions, including during the 2019 Tishreen Protests against government corruption and the lack of public services. The human rights defender was assassinated by militias on 9 May 2021 in front of his house in Karbala.
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.
