Jassim Al-Asadi
Jassim Al-Asadi is a human rights defender, prominent environmentalist and academic. He is an expert on environmental issues, including water, and the protection of the marshes in Southern Iraq. Jassim Al-Asadi is a co-founder and the head of Nature Iraq, an Iraqi NGO which works on the defense of the environment and has been outspoken on the condition of the country's marshlands. Jassim Al-Asadi is one of the few specialists and trusted sources in the field in Iraq.
Since October 2019, a new wave of peaceful demonstrations have been organised in Iraq unifying different ethnic and political groups, following years of protest movements by different sectors of society. The demonstrations were led by Iraqi human rights defenders protesting the government itself as well as non-state armed and political groups, endemic corruption, economic struggle and to demand basic and functioning state services. Police, military and armed groups quashed these demonstrations with lethal force, suppressing their rights to assembly and free speech. Live ammunition was used against peaceful protesters, which resulted in the death of hundreds of demonstrators including many human rights defenders while others were abducted and attacked.
