By Tsarizm Staff | July 31, 2020
MECRA interview with Kareem Botane on assassinations and kidnapping cases shed light on how the last month’s campaign against high profile intellectuals, foreigners and protesters has impacted Iraq.
Iraqi commentator Hishim al-Hashimi was murdered on July 6. German artist Hella Mewis was kidnapped 20 and on July 24 she was freed. The perpetrators have not been found. MECRA sat down with Kareem Botane, a journalist and photographer, to discuss these recent incidents and if they have a chilling affect on protests and how they impact foreigners in Iraq, journalists and those who work with the international community or who are local intellectuals speaking out about issues in Iraq.
Kareem Botane: What happened is that Abu Ali al-Askari, security head of Kataib Hezbollah (KH) within the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), he came out with statement claiming this kidnapping is a kind of game of mixing cases and that we need investigations of who kidnapped the activist, who after several days was released. She was released based on intelligence of Iraqi forces and not the militias [PMU]…
To read more visit MECRA.
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This piece originally appeared on Tsarizm.com and is used by permission.
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