'I will not leave Iraq': female activist defiant after kidnap release

The country's Human Rights Commission says government needs to do more to protect civilians

• 

  An anti-government protester holds a placard with Arabic that reads, "We are a stubborn people," during ongoing anti-government protests, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, February 23, 2020. AP Photo

• 

  Iraqi protesters clean a street at Baghdad's Tahrir square on February 23, 2020. AFP

• 

  Students and other demonstrators hold national flags during ongoing anti-government protests, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Februar 23, 2020. AP Photo

• 

  An anti-government protester holds an Iraqi flag during ongoing anti-government protests, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, February 23, 2020. AP Photo

• 

  A woman holds a picture of her a missing protester son during ongoing anti-government protests, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, February 23, 2020. Arabic on the poster reads, "Freedom for paramedic Omr Ali." AP Photo

A female Iraqi activist has launched a searing attack on Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr following her release after she was kidnapped in Najaf.

Rana Abdel Halim Sumaida, a prominent face of the protest movement, said Mr Al Sadr’s security guards kidnapped her this week.

“I was getting in to a taxi and a few men from Moqtada Al Sadr’s security guards surrounded the car and I was forced to get out, they shouted at me and asked why I was publicly speaking out against the cleric,” Ms Sumaida said in a video she posted to social media.

The men took her bag, pulled her scarf off of her head, hit and threatened to rape her, she said.

Ms Sumaida is known for her sharp criticism of the country’s political leaders, especially Mr Al Sadr, and rose to prominence in the Iraqi protest movement that called for an overhaul of the political system.

The demonstrations which have raged since October have been unique because they have drawn both men and women into the streets, a rare occurrence for the conservative majority-Muslim country.

“I walked towards Moqtada Al Sadr’s house and was screaming loud that ladies in Najaf were being hit by his security forces. Then a car pulled up, wrapped a blanket around me and took me,” she said.

Ms Sumaida was released later that day.

In a message to Mr Al Sadr, the activist said “if you want to accept these kind of acts against women then you should take off your turban and respect yourself and your father’s legacy.”

“I will not leave Iraq, you are the one who stole the country’s wealth and people, I would rather die on this land than leave and surrender to your gangs,” she said.

The Iraqi Human Rights Commission said it received 64 complaints of kidnapping since early October.

"Out of the 64, only 22 were released," Ali Al Bayati, a member of the commission told The National on Wednesday.

Mr Al Bayati said efforts made by the government to halt the abductions are “poor” as cases are still being reported.

The official said that Lara Abdul Amir, a demonstrator from Baghdad, remains missing after disappearing in November.

The commission said it received a letter granting it access to set up a special committee to investigate the abductions.

Yet despite the development, protesters are facing an increase in the number of kidnappings and forced disappearances.

The UN special representative to Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, applauded women for their participation in the protests.

"It is unprecedented and marks a new page in the history of women's grassroots mobilisation in Iraq," she told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

Political leaders in Baghdad must "heed this call," she said.