On 19 September 2020, a group of armed men abducted Sajjad al-Iraqi, a prominent protester and activist involved in the 2019 Tishreen [October] protest movement, from a vehicle he was travelling in with his friends in Nasiriya, Thi Qar governorate, Iraq. More than three years after his abduction, his whereabouts remain unknown, and his family have been subjected to threats as they pursue truth and justice. On 22 March 2023, the Thi Qar Criminal Court sentenced to death in absentia two individuals convicted for kidnapping Sajjad al-Iraqi, but no arrests have been made. The Iraqi authorities must reveal the fate and whereabouts of Sajjad al-Iraqi, ensure his family is protected from reprisals, and hold those found to be responsible to account in fair trials without recourse to
the death penalty
