Irakische Frauenrechtlerin in Basra ermordet

Gestern wurde die irakische Frauenrechtlerin Riham Yaqoob in Basra auf offener Straße ermordet. Die geschah, nachdem dem iranischen regime nahe stehenden Medien zuvor eine Schmutzkampagne gegen sie eröffnet hat. Im Irak fallen regelmäßig Menschenrechts- und Demokratieaktivist*innen dem Terror diverser Milizen zum Opfer.

Seth J. Frantzman schreibt dazu in der Jerusalem Post:

Iraqi protesters who have been fighting in the streets for almost a year against what they say is government neglect and corruption are used to being threatened. They’ve already seen hundreds of their friends attacked and some hunted down and shot by pro-government militias. On August 18, the protesters mourned once again, a young female activist, a doctor, who was shot in Basra.

Fellow Iraqis say that the country “lost a treasure today.” People know the fear. Those who go to the squares to protest in Baghdad or southern Iraq report receiving threats. They get the threats from friends, from family, or phone calls or other means. It is made known to them: If you continue down this path you will be harmed. And they have been kidnapped, killed, assassinated, and hunted down.

Dr. Riham Yaqoub was an activist, a sports expert and a nutritionist. She was assassinated in Basra, the large southern Iraqi city near the border with Kuwait, on Wednesday, according to numerous reports. Irfaa Sawtak published a video of her doing sports training. Others say she was young, ambitious and “full of hope and life.”

Her murder is one of many recent assassinations in southern Iraq. It comes as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is in Washington for high level meetings. Rocket fire almost daily has targeted US forces at bases, in Baghdad and near the airport. The message is clear: There is impunity to attack whoever the militias want.