ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - On the sixth anniversary of Iraq’s bloody Tishreen protests, activists continue to face persecution while authorities have yet to deliver justice for the hundreds killed, thousands injured, and those forcibly disappeared, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

The Tishreen protests, which began in October 2019, erupted across Baghdad and southern Iraq over government corruption, economic mismanagement, and poor public services. The youth-led movement demanded an overhaul of the political system after years of unfulfilled promises on jobs, electricity, healthcare, and water.

The protests were met with a violent crackdown by Iraqi authorities, with at least 541 protesters killed and over 20,000 injured, according to the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR). 

“It is abominable that six years after the Tishreen protests, Iraqi authorities remain busy hounding and intimidating activists and their families, while those behind the horrific killings, assassinations, and enforced disappearances remain at large,” a report by Amnesty cited Razaw Salihy, the watchdog’s Iraq researcher, as saying.

“This obliterates prospects for justice, truth, and reparations for crimes under international law committed by security forces and affiliated militias during and after the protests,” she added.

The report cites stories from several activists in hiding who have had their family homes raided by armed forces on multiple occasions and their relatives harassed, in attempts to force them out of hiding.

“It is revenge for Tishreen. We wanted change, not political power. We wanted a better Iraq and the rule of law… They [militias] kill, terrorize and disappear people, but it is us who are accused of destabilizing Iraq,” an activist, who’s family home was raided in December 2020, told Amnesty.

An Amnesty International report published on the sixth anniversary of the Tishreen protests on Wednesday quoted the NGO's Iraq researcher as saying that "Iraqi authorities remain busy hounding and intimidating activists and their families, while those behind the horrific… pic.twitter.com/wHrA9nz4oh

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The watchdog also quoted activists mentioning stories of civil society members being forced into confessions, but stressed that they have not been able to independently verify these claims.

“Freedom of expression is under attack from all sides. Activists and protesters risk their lives and their families by speaking out. The authorities must meet the demands they have long promised: justice and an end to the hounding and killing of Iraqis demanding their basic rights,” said Salihy.

Ihsan Abu Kawthar, a prominent activist in the Tishreen movement, was arrested by Iraqi security forces in the southern Dhi Qar province on March 8, accused of “leading an armed rebellion against an existing authority.”

Less than two weeks later, security forces raided the house of Abu Kawthar’s family, arresting the father and two others on charges of orchestrating demonstrations calling for the release of the activist.

The forces reportedly monitored the house for hours, broke in, and conducted a full inspection of the residence. They purportedly also fired tear gas canisters, leading Abu Kawthar’s mother to faint.

“Six years on it is high time for the Iraqi authorities to break the vicious cycle of impunity,” Razaw Salihy stressed.

The Tishreen movement led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, early elections in 2021, the dissolution of provincial councils, and the dissolution of the Sainte-Lague electoral system, which the protesters claimed favored better-funded, established parties over independent candidates.
 
However, the 2021 elections did not bring about any major changes to the Iraqi political scene, and both the Sainte-Lague system and provincial councils were restored in 2023.