منظمة البديل الشيوعي في العراق تنظيم شيوعي عمالي منهجه الفكري والسياسي ماركسي مستنبط من “البيان الشيوعي”
detained by the Regional Authorities in Sulaymaniyah
The Iraqi ruling authorities and their militias are waging an unprecedented campaign of repression against the protesting youth of Al-Nasiriyah. To date, dozens have been arrested, languishing in prisons & detention centres, and many more are being subjected to a fierce campaign of persecution and arrests based on coordinated & fabricated allegations.
The city of Al-Nasiriyah has never had any peace. Since the October 2019 uprising, there have been continuous campaigns of repression, arrests, persecution, and expulsion against the city’s youth, and these campaigns are becoming more ferocious and taking greater & broader dimensions day by day.
The city’s police chief has been replaced by a new commander appointed by the militias in Al- Nasiriyah. These militias were expelled by the city’s youth during the uprising, and they have vowed to retaliate against the protestors by all means. Since the new police chief took office, Al-Nasiriyah has never known peace. He has been instrumental in implementing aggressive security policies aimed at the arrest of all youth who participated in, supported, and backed the October Uprising.
The arrest of the young protester, Ihsan Abu Kawthar, the fabrication of malicious and false charges against him, his trial, and his sentencing to fifteen years in prison, and before this, the arrest of his younger brother, attacking & vandalising his family home and physically assaulting his father then the subsequent pursuit of one of his other brothers, Ahmed al-Hilali, and the issuance of an arrest warrant for him in Sulaymaniyah, and his subsequent arrest on 14th April, all constitutes measures that confirm the true motives for political retaliation by the authorities, their agencies, and their militias against the youth of Nasiriyah.
The authorities’ fear and panic of a renewed protest movement have driven them to a frenzy of repression. They now counter any protest movement or demand with excessive repression. Nothing is more indicative of this than the repression and abuse of protesting educational personnel. Police forces have used all their repressive and terrorising means against protesters in Baghdad and other cities. These fascist practices are nothing but evidence of the fear and tension that afflict the authorities and their militias regarding any protest movement. They are also clear evidence of acts of revenge against a city that has stood steadfastly against this authority, refusing to submit or accept being ruled by a group of militias.
While we, the Revolutionary Protestors’ Grouping, strongly condemn the repressive measures taken by the local authorities in Nasiriyah and its police commander against the protesters and youth of this city, we also strongly condemn the actions of the local authorities in Sulaymaniyah in arresting the protestor Ahmed al-Hilali and their attempts to deport & hand him over to the central authorities. We also hold the local government in Sulaymaniyah and its security forces responsible for the safety of the protester, Ahmed al-Hilali, and demand his immediate release.
Freedom for all the detained youth of Al-Nasiriyah
No to the oppressive authorities, their apparatuses, and their militias
Revolutionary Protesters’ Grouping
23.4.2025
