Protests rage as new leader seeks stability
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s judiciary ordered courts on Sunday to release antigovernment protesters, carrying out one of the first decisions of the recently inaugurated prime minister just as dozens of demonstrators burned tires in renewed protests against the new leadership.
Prime Minister Mustafa alKadhimi also promoted a wellrespected Iraqi general, who played a key role in the military campaign against the Islamic State, to lead counterterrorism operations. Former leader Adel AbdulMahdi had previously demoted the general, Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab alSaadi, sparking protests in October.
The Supreme Judiciary Council said in a statement that it had ordered the release of protesters detained since those demonstrations erupted, in line with the new prime minister’s call.
Protests erupted in Baghdad and across the country’s south on Oct. 1, when frustrated Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, unemployment and poor services. Human rights groups say at least 600 people died in the following three months at the hands of Iraqi security forces who used live fire and tear gas to disperse the crowds.
The demonstrations withered with the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, though dozens of protesters are still camped out in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square determined not to let the movement die.
AlKadhimi also said he was promoting al-Saadi to become head of Iraq’s elite CounterTerrorism Service, just as the country was experiencing an increase in attacks by the Islamic State group in the north.
Previously he was a force commander in the service before Abdul-Mahdi demoted him in September to a post in the Defense Ministry. The Iraqi public considered his demotion a sign of corrupt government practices and took to the streets in outrage.
Still, plumes of acrid smoke choked the air Sunday as protesters, unpersuaded by alKadhimi’s decisions, returned to the streets and burned tires on a key bridge leading to the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government.
Protesters said they rejected alKadhimi and any candidate chosen by the political establishment.