About 450 people were detained during protests in Iraq, which lasted from October 1, the head of Iraqi human rights activists Mustafa Saadoun told RIA Novosti. Half of them are still remaining in prisons.
In Iraq, since October 1, popular anti-government protests have continued, which began with calls to go out onto the streets and circulated through social networks, featuring demands to strengthen the fight against corruption, reduce unemployment, and improve the work of public utilities. These protests were the first ones since the appointment of the Adele Abdel Mahdi government a year ago.
Not a single party or political leader claimed to be behind these protests. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights demanded an immediate and open investigation into the deaths of peaceful demonstrators in Iraq.
“450 people were detained, about a half was released”, – Saadun said.
He also confirmed information about the increased number of victims among the demonstrators.
“73 people were killed, about 3 thousand were injured from the beginning of the confrontation with the security forces. Most of the dead and injured were from Baghdad and Zi-Kar province. The main injuries were done to the head and chest”, – the source said.
He added that last Friday was the “bloodiest” day of protests, and also did not rule out that the number of victims of events in Iraq in the near future could increase to one hundred.