Tahrir Square

Human Rights Watch reported the abduction of Saba Farhan Hamid (36 years old) on November 2 while she was on her way home after providing food, water, and first aid supplies to protesters in Tahrir Square. Hamid’s family said she remained blindfolded throughout her abduction and was released on November 13, but she was unable to provide any further details.

Human Rights Watch also documented the abduction of Maytham Al-Hilu, a Baghdad resident, on October 7 during the first wave of protests. He was released on October 24 and could not provide any details about his abduction.

On November 26, the brother of Omar Kazem Kadhai said that Kazem had been living in Tahrir Square since the beginning of the second wave of protests on October 25. He said Kazem returned home on November 20 to shower, then left again and the family has been unable to contact or locate him since. The brother said that on November 25, Kazem’s phone was suddenly turned back on, and messages sent to him were marked as read, but they received no response to repeated calls. He said Kazem's older brother filed a missing person report at a local police station in Baghdad, but the authorities showed little interest and, to the best of his knowledge, did not investigate the report. Kazem was released on November 28 and told Human Rights Watch that the federal police had arrested him at a checkpoint while he was on his way to the protests on November 20. He appeared before a judge on November 21, who told him he was not charged with anything. The police released him on November 28.

A man in Baghdad said on October 22 that he spoke by phone with his brother, Abbas Yassin Kazem, who was in Tahrir Square, at 5 p.m. on October 3. When he tried to call Kazem again at 8 p.m., the phone was off. He visited four police stations seeking information, but the police provided no assistance in locating him. Kazem remains missing.

Another man said his relative, Saif Mohsen Abdul Hamid, came to Baghdad on October 25 to participate in the protests and was sleeping in a tent with friends in Tahrir Square. He said he last spoke to Abdul Hamid around noon on October 28, when Abdul Hamid said he was on Al-Jumhuriya Bridge, at the front lines of the protests. After that, his phone was turned off. The relative said he went to police stations and government offices but received no information. Police said they lacked sufficient information to follow up on the case. Abdul Hamid remains missing.

A relative of Mary Mohammed Haraj, a woman from Baghdad, said on November 13 that Haraj had posted a video on October 29 on Facebook in which she criticized the prime minister and supported the protesters. The relative said the video went viral, and unknown Facebook users began accusing Haraj of having ties to Saudi Arabia and threatened to kill her.

The relative said she last spoke to Haraj while she was in Tahrir Square at 5 p.m. on November 8. When she tried to call again at 9 p.m., the phone was off. Haraj’s father and uncle went to two police stations in Baghdad but received no information. They requested that the police track her phone’s cell tower data and filed a missing person report, but they believe the police did not investigate. Haraj was released on November 12, but did not provide Human Rights Watch with details of her abduction.

The sister of Mustafa Munthir Ali, who had been helping as a medic in Tahrir Square every day, said he stopped answering calls at 3 a.m. on November 15. She went to Tahrir Square later that morning but could not find him, nor was he listed at any police stations or detention centers they checked. She said she didn’t know how to file a missing person report and the police did not assist her. Ali was able to contact his family on November 17, and his father visited him on November 20 at a detention center in Al-Muthanna, a former military base in Baghdad now used by various government security agencies.

Ali told his father that at midnight on November 14, a man in civilian clothes pulled him from the protest and handed him over to a group of officers who detained him and took him to the Baghdad Operations Command. He said they beat him. On November 16, he was brought before a judge who told him that he was not being charged with anything, but that he could not be released “until the government resigns or the protests end.” The father said he confirmed that other protesters were also being held at Al-Muthanna. Human Rights Watch could not independently verify his account.

The cousin of Sinan Adel Ibrahim said on November 25 that he last spoke to Ibrahim, who was in Tahrir Square, on November 21. When he called again at 2 a.m. on November 22, the phone was off. The family was reluctant to explain the steps they took to secure his release.

The father of Hassan Ahmed Hatim (16 years old) said his son went to Tahrir Square on November 28 and the family has been unable to reach him or locate him since. The father visited three police stations but received no information and none offered assistance with filing a missing person report or any other help.