Court frees Iraqi analyst whose arrest sparked anger

Ibrahim Al Sumaidaie gets bail as arrest warrant for another Iraqi political analyst comes to light

A protester waves the Iraqi flag during an anti-government demonstration in Najaf. AFP

A Baghdad court on Monday granted bail to a well-known political analyst, two days after his arrest on charges of insulting the authorities sparked widespread outrage.

Ibrahim Al Sumaidaie's release was announced on Twitter by Ali Al Bayati, member of Iraq's semi-official Independent Human Rights Commission.

Mr Al Sumaidaie, a lawyer and former officer in the Iraqi army, is a member of the Rafidain Centre for Dialogue think tank. He is known for his criticism of the political elite and corruption among politicians and has supported the mass anti-government protests that broke out in 2019.

His arrest warrant said he was accused of “insulting the public authorities”. The document gave no further detail.

Another Iraqi analyst, Yahya Al Kubaisi, said authorities has also issued a warrant against him on charges of libelling government institutions and officials.

Mr Al Kubaisi, who works at the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies in Amman, Jordan, wrote on his Facebook page that the warrant was in response to his criticism of judicial authorities in a series of articles for Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper.

Mr Al Sumaidaie's arrest fuelled public anger against a political elite already under fire for mismanagement of the country, with human rights advocates and activists accusing the authorities of criminalising freedom of expression.

Iraq’s Supreme Judiciary Council said his arrest came after he made an “attack against an official institution and described it with rude words, not suitable to mention here, beyond the limits of the freedom of expression that are guaranteed by the constitution”. It also accused him of being paid for the statements he had made.

Under Clause 226 of the Saddam-era Iraqi Criminal Code, the charge against him carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison or a fine.

It is still unclear which government entity filed the suit against him and what statements he made.

But a voice clip widely circulated on social media appeared to feature Mr Al Sumaidaie criticising judicial authorities during the process of amending a law for the country’s Supreme Federal Court, which was approved on Thursday.

Kurdish writer Saman Noah said the entity or person who filed the suit “have no shame”.

“They are silent while the militant factions and others attack the government, institutions and officials by words and sometimes by missiles,” he said in a post on his Facebook page, referring to Iran-backed Shiite militias who launch attacks against US assets and make bold statements against the government.

“This is the final nail in the coffin of democracy,” said Munqith Dagher, founder of the Independent Institute of Administration and Civil Society Studies research group in Iraq and MENA director and board member of Gallup International.

“Arresting free people for their opinions is equal to kidnapping or assassinating them because of these opinions.”

Mr Al Bayati, the human rights commissioner, called on the judicial authorities to drop all lawsuits against activists and analysts.

Angered by the lack of jobs, poor public services and endemic corruption, Iraqis took to the streets in October 2019 in widespread protests in the centre and south of the country. They demanded the removal of the political elites in place since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

Although the protests forced the previous government to resign and Parliament to approve new election laws to hold early elections, they have largely died down after a crackdown by security forces and harassment, kidnapping and targeted killings of activists by militias as well as the pandemic.

As of July last year, the government had registered the killings of 560 protesters and members of the security forces, while thousands of protesters were hurt, with some suffering life-changing injuries. Dozens of protesters and activists have been killed since then.

When he took office in May, Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi pledged to investigate the killings. But his government has yet to hold anyone accountable, offering only promises of justice and financial aid to victims.

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