2023-07-18 01:02:00
Two young people watch a protest in Iraq. © AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP.
The Iraqi government has resubmitted two bills to Parliament that, if passed, would severely restrict the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly of the Iraqi population, as declared today by Amnesty International and the INSM Foundation for Digital Rights in Iraq.
The resubmission of these bills coincides with a spate of prosecutions of people critical of government figures, as well as a campaign by the Home Secretary to crack down on “indecent content” on the internet. Between January and June of this year, the authorities prosecuted at least 20 people for the peaceful exercise of their human right to freedom of expression. Six of them were sentenced to prison terms, but have already been released.
“The latest attempt by the Iraqi authorities to crack down on free expression reveals their blatant disregard for the extraordinary sacrifices made by the Iraqi people during the 2019 uprising to guarantee their freedoms. The Iraqi government must immediately withdraw these repressive bills and Parliament must not pass any laws that unduly restrict human rights in Iraq,” said Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Regional Campaigns Officer for Iraq and Yemen.
“The Iraqi people have the right to criticize their leaders and religious figures, and to protest peacefully without fear of jail or heavy fines. These rights are especially important at a time when the population is trying to hold their government representatives accountable for allegations of systemic corruption and human rights violations.”
The draft Law on Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly gives the Iraqi authorities the cover of a democratically passed law to arbitrarily prosecute anyone who violates “public morals” or “public order.” Under the Cybercrime Bill, those who post online content deemed to violate the imprecisely defined “economic, political, military or security interests of the country” could be sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine. of up to 50 million Iraqi dinars (about US$38,000).
In meetings with Amnesty International in Baghdad in May, human rights defenders and activists expressed alarm that the bills would empower the authorities to further crack down on peaceful dissent. The proposed reforms are of deep concern given the recent spate of prosecutions for offenses against freedom of expression.
Journalist Haidar al-Hamdani is on trial under a defamation suit brought against him by the Governor of Basrawhom Al Hamdani had accused of corruption in a video posted on Facebook, where he has more than a million followers.
An Iraqi comedian prosecuted by an Iraqi court during the campaign against “indecent content” told Amnesty International: “I can no longer make fun of a party, or the State, or a public figure… or the state of the roads, water, schools or bridges. Because? Because everything belongs to the parties [políticos]”.
Restriction of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly
On May 9, 2023, Parliament held the second reading of the Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly Bill and Mohammed al Halbousi, Speaker of Parliament, can call a general vote on the law at any time.
Lawmakers are privately debating the amendments to both bills, according to people who have participated in the debates and seen the proposed new wording in the drafts. However, these amendments have not been made public, and it is not clear if the drafts will be released to the public before a possible vote.
Hayder Hamzoz, Executive Director of INSM, said: “It is unacceptable that Iraq still suffers from a lack of access to information about bills before Parliament. Access to information is an intrinsic human right and is one of the keys to the rule of law to empower citizens and allow them to participate effectively in political life and in the fight against corruption”.
The bill prohibits “insulting religions, religious authorities, sects”, as well as those who “disparage” religious figures or symbols. Those caught committing this “crime” face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 10 million Iraqi dinars (US$7,600).
Given the religious figures play a prominent role in the main Iraqi political parties, prohibiting criticism against them would severely limit the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), when a State Party imposes restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression, these cannot endanger the right itself. The relationship between right and restriction and between rule and exception should not be reversed.
The bill also allows authorities to ban public gatherings unless their prior permission is obtained at least five days in advance. It does not specify the criteria that the Iraqi authorities would apply to approve or ban protests, which in effect gives them the power to ban all protests.
In its authoritative interpretation of article 21 of the ICCPR on freedom of assembly, the UN Human Rights Committee has stressed in its General Comment no. 37 that “authorization regimes […] punched[n] the idea that peaceful assembly is a fundamental right. […] If authorization regimes persist […]should amount in practice to a notification system in which authorization is granted ex officio, unless there are compelling reasons for refusing it”.
In Iraq, security agencies already crack down on protesters, and this risk increases whenever the authorities deem a protest “unsanctioned” as they regularly resort to the use of force to disperse it. Amnesty International has previously documented how during nationwide anti-government protests in 2019 at least 600 protesters lost their lives and thousands more were injured after security forces resorted to the use of deadly force.
Policing of online freedom of expression
The Government resubmitted the Cybercrime Bill to Parliament in November 2022. Under the vaguely worded proposed law, anyone found guilty of “exacerbating sectarian tensions or strife” or of “undermining the independence, unity and security of the country, or its paramount economic, political, military or security interests” could be sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of up to 50 million Iraqi dinars (approximately US$38,000).
“In April 2023, the Iraqi government reaffirmed its promise to Amnesty International to uphold and protect the right to freedom of expression, but its actions in Parliament do not match its words,” said Bissan Fakih, regional campaign manager for International Amnesty.
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