Two Iraqi Kurds have gained the right to remain in the UK after claiming they faced threats from the Popular Mobilisation Forces militia.
The men, who have been granted anonymity, said they fled their homeland due to the fear of “persecution” by the Shiite militia, also known as Hashd Al Shaabi.
The network of mainly pro-Iran paramilitary units was formed to battle against ISIS in 2014, when Iraq's army collapsed, but has been accused of widespread human rights abuse.
The men made separate asylum claims, which were initially rejected but the same judge has now overturned each case on appeal.
In the first case, the immigration hearing was told that in June 2021 a group of ISIS fighters broke into one of the men’s family farm and stole livestock, which he reported to Hashd Al Shaabi, but when members arrived to investigate they were ambushed by the extremists. A gun battle ensued in which three militia fighters were killed, along with the man’s brother.
The man, referred to in court documents by the initials AM, said Hashd Al Shaabi believed he had led them into an ambush and began to hunt him down. His mother was killed by the militia and he fears “serious harm if he is returned to Iraq”.
His claim was initially rejected by the judge as lacking credibility on the basis he had only assumed the armed men at his farm were ISIS fighters. They were wearing black clothes and face masks, and proclaimed “Allahu akbar”, but a judge insisted there was “no reasonable explanation as to why they just did not tell him” they were from ISIS.
In overturning the decision, Judge Peter Lewis said his colleague did “not explain how she reached the decision as to what ISIS look like or say when greeting farmers in Iraq”.
Judge Lewis said his colleague also claimed Hashd Al Shaabi “would not have walked into an ambush”. The judge added: “Given that ambushes are by definition a surprise, the judge gives no proper reason for dismissing the possibility of an ambush.”
In the other case, the man known by the initials AA said he was at risk from the PMF because he refused to join the fight against ISIS, as well as his political activities as part of the Dakok Support Centre, a UK-based organisation that campaigns on human rights issues in Iraq.
His account was initially dismissed as lacking credibility, but Judge Lewis again overruled on the grounds his colleague had accepted the man was politically active in the UK.
The PMF was created in response to a fatwa by Iraq’s highest Shiite authority, Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani. It was initially an umbrella organisation of about 70 predominantly Shiite armed groups, with up to 250,000 members.
Groups linked to the PMF resumed attacks on US forces in 2019 when the war against ISIS was winding down, ending an uneasy alliance between coalition advisers helping the Iraqi army and government-funded militias.
The US military launched 85 strikes against Tehran-backed militiamen in Iraq and Syria in 2024. At least 16 people were killed and 25 injured in Iraq, including civilians, the government in Baghdad said. The attacks were the first wave of retaliation ordered by US President Joe Biden for a drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan on January 28.
Iraq's parliament completed the first reading of new legislation on the PMF, containing 18 articles, on Monday. According to the draft seen by The National, it will keep the PMF under the command of Prime Minister, who's also the commander-in-chief for the armed forces, but as a parallel strong military force.
The second reading will begin the process of debate and amendments, before the bill is put to a vote at the third reading.
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATHC INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals
To qualify automatically
UAE must beat Iraq.
Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match
UAE must beat Iraq.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vault%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBilal%20Abou-Diab%20and%20Sami%20Abdul%20Hadi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EInvestment%20and%20wealth%20advisory%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOutliers%20VC%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E14%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
