A new cybercrimes law that would impose heavy prison sentences and hefty fines against peaceful critics who express themselves online would be a devastating setback for freedom of expression in Iraq, Amnesty International said today. The organization has highlighted its serious concern over the draft “Law on Information Technology Crimes” in an open letter signed by nine other NGOs. The letter was submitted to the Iraqi authorities this morning and warns that the proposed law would “establish a climate of self-censorship in…

Khafajah tribe denounced the arrest of Aws al-Khafaji, leader of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade, and demanded his release two days after the "Popular Mobilization Forces" (PMF) arrested him.The leader of Khafajah tribe, Ameer Ghani Sikban, denounced in a statement the arrest of Aws al-Khafaji, calling on the government to help in releasing him.Khafaji, a well-known commander at PMF, criticized the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Iraq and his five days stay.Sources indicate that Khafaji also accused…

Leader of the Abu Al-Fadl Al-Abbas Forces of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Aws al-Khafaji said on Wednesday that Iraqi renowned novelist Alaa Mashthob was assassinated because he had criticised Iran. “My cousin, Alaa Mashthob wrote an article against Iran. Some men came and killed him in love of Iran,” he said, calling to reject all foreign presence and Iranian interventions in Iraq. Mashthob, 51, was shot 13 times on Saturday evening by two armed men in front of his house in Bab…

GENEVA — The International Committee of the Red Cross reports the Iraqi government faces enormous challenges in renovating its battered country and rebuilding the trust of its population after many years of bruising warfare. Iraq's big urban battles are at an end. But the ferocity of fighting in places such as Falluja and Mosul have resulted in a level of destruction and mass suffering that will be hard to repair. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports 1.8 million people remain…

BAGHDAD - Iraqi novelist Alaa Mashzoub was a secular civil society activist who used his bike to get around Karbala’s infamous traffic and road closures. He was also an outspoken critic of foreign interference in Iraq and political meddling by powerful Iran-backed militias. On Saturday, Mashzoub was gunned down in the Shiite holy city by unknown assailants who silenced him with 13 bullets as he rode his bicycle home for the last time.  Mashzoub’s killing was the latest in a spate…

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq is the 13th among the world’s most corrupt countries, a report has found as the country struggles to recover on both the security, political and economic levels after a strenuous war against  Islamic State terrorism. The corruption index released by Transparency International, today, ranked Iraq 168th, a position shared with Venezuela, among 180 countries covered by the report. It is the Arab World’s 6th most corrupt country, according to the report. Denmark is the world’s least corrupt,…

HAMAM AL-ALIL, Iraq - At a camp for displaced Iraqis just south of Mosul, Intisar sits on a thin, well-worn mat inside the mostly bare tent she now calls home. Life has been difficult since she arrived to Hamam al-Alil just over a year ago with five children in tow. “The other kids yell at mine, ‘dwaesh, dwaesh’. It really bothers me,” Intisar told Middle East Eye, referring to a commonly used term for members of the Islamic State group (IS). But…

BAGHDAD (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought Wednesday to reassure U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria that they will be safe after American troops withdraw from the country. Amid confusion over plans to implement President Donald Trump’s pullout order and threats from Turkey to attack the Kurds, Pompeo made an unannounced stop in Iraq while on a weeklong trip to the Middle East aimed at assuaging the fears of Washington’s Arab partners that the U.S. is abandoning the region…

Baghdad -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced stop in Iraq on Wednesday amid confusion over changing messages from the Trump administration about a planned U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria. Pompeo met senior Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Adil Adb al-Mahdi and President Barham Salih, whom he reassured that the United States was committed to not only defeating ISIS in the region, but making sure the terror group cannot rebuild itself after the fighting stops. During a meeting with the speaker…

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Iraq’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi in Baghdad on Wednesday, state television reported. Meanwhile AFP reported that Pompeo’s visit to Baghdad was unannounced. Pompeo’s talks, on the second leg of a key Middle East tour, come less than two weeks after President Donald Trump drew criticism for failing to meet a single Iraqi official during a surprise Christmas visit to US troops. The US top diplomat was in the Middle East to…