Human Rights
“Smuggling rings lure and enlist them, how do Iraqis turn
In November 2023, Ali Qais, 23, from the Al-Kifah district in central Baghdad, took a surprising step by traveling to Russia after receiving an invitation to study the Russian language — a requirement for admission to Russian institutes. Months earlier, Ali, who held only a middle school certificate, had contacted an Iraqi resident in Russia involved in smuggling, known as “Aboud, the Son of Iraq.” Aboud persuaded him to travel for study or immigration, saying the study invitation cost $2,300, plus $700 for the flight ticket, and promised to handle all registration, residency, and accommodation arrangements. Two other young men,…
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Brick Factory Workers in Iraq: Facing Death, Injuries, and Disease
On the morning of January 1, 2024, 28-year-old Hussein Ne’ma was going about his usual duties as a furnace operator at the “Al-Janabi” brick factory in the Zaid Bin Ali area of Babil province, southern Iraq. As he stood atop the brick-constructed furnace, refueling it with black oil, the roof…
ماهي مبادرة عراقيون؟
نخب اكاديمية ومدنية تطلق مبادرة “عراقيون” للإصلاح السياسي والاجتماعي
The Silencing Machine: Killings, Trials, and Isolation of Journalists Intensify
On December 22, 2024, the Karkh Court of First Instance issued a ruling fining Iraqi journalist Qais Hassan five million Iraqi dinars in a lawsuit filed against him by former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in August 2024 on charges of “insult and defamation.” Hassan is just one of dozens of…
