Iraq Faces Major Legal Test as Lawyer Files Complaint Against Militia Leader Over 2019 Protest Crackdown

An Iraqi lawyer has filed a formal complaint with public prosecutors against a senior Iran-backed politician and militia leader following remarks suggesting that militias played a part in suppressing the mass pro-reform protests that began in October 2019. Known locally as Tishreen, these demonstrations erupted in Baghdad before spreading across central and southern Iraqi cities.

Organized primarily by politically unaffiliated young people, the demonstrators called for employment opportunities, improved basic services, an an end to systemic corruption, and the dissolution of the quota-based political system established after the 2003 US-led invasion. The protests were met with tear gas and live ammunition, resulting in approximately 600 deaths and over 20,000 injuries among protesters, alongside casualties among security forces. Furthermore, activists in Baghdad, Basra, Nasiriyah, and Najaf faced a wave of targeted kidnappings and assassinations widely attributed to Iran-backed militias. To this day, no senior security official has been convicted for these deaths, which authorities previously attributed to a mysterious "third party."

The controversy reignited when Hadi Al Amiri, leader of the Badr Organisation, addressed supporters on Friday and praised "the resistance" for standing "bravely in the face of the Tishreen sedition and preserving the state and the political system." In response, lawyer Hazim Mazin Al Badri filed a legal complaint against Mr Al Amiri in Wasit province on Wednesday.

According to court documentation, Mr Al Badri urged prosecutors to launch an investigation, summon Mr Al Amiri for questioning, and cross-reference his statements with past investigations into the violence against protesters. The goal is to establish the legal accountability of the armed factions Mr Al Amiri described as "the resistance."

The comments quickly went viral, reopening deep political divisions in Iraq at a sensitive time when the government faces mounting local and international pressure to disarm non-state armed groups. For supporters of the Tishreen movement, Mr Al Amiri's terminology was inflammatory, portraying the peaceful demonstrations as sedition and validating the deadly crackdown.

"Tishreen was not a conspiracy," Mohammed Ali Hassan, a resident of the protest epicenter Dhi Qar province, told The National. "It was Iraqis asking for a better future."

Although the unprecedented protests eventually waned due to the heavy security response and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020, they profoundly challenged the political establishment, paralyzed daily operations, and forced the government to step down. These pressures ultimately led political parties to introduce reforms, including a new electoral law enabling independent politicians to enter parliament.

"It has been crystal clear to us who was the 'third party' and we know their faces," said an activist who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Today, these criminals are coming out in public to brag the killing, defying the authorities."

This legal challenge arrives as Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi navigates renewed pressure to bring all weapons under state control. Baghdad is preparing for the conclusion of the US-led coalition mission on September 30, having assured Washington of its commitment to centralize military authority. This commitment directly impacts Iran-backed factions operating both inside and outside the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a state-sanctioned umbrella organization for paramilitary groups that previously fought ISIS.

Prominent pro-Tehran factions, such as Asaib Ahl Al Haq, Kataib Imam Ali, and cleric Moqtada Al Sadr’s Saraya Al Salam faction, maintain that they have placed their weaponry under state supervision. Conversely, hardline factions including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba insist they will retain their arms until foreign military forces completely withdraw.

During a local television interview, senior Shiite politician Nouri Al Maliki stated that outright disarmament is off the table, suggesting instead a process of "organising and containing the weapons," though he did not provide specific details.

The Badr Organisation remains one of the oldest and largest factions within the Popular Mobilisation Forces, holding parliamentary seats via the Fatah Alliance and wielding significant political and security influence across multiple provinces.

While the Iraqi judiciary has recently demonstrated a firmer stance in unrelated militia cases—such as the recent 15-year prison sentences handed down in Baghdad's Karkh and Central Criminal Courts for rocket attacks and the kidnapping of US journalist Shelly Kittleson—cases tied to the Tishreen movement have experienced minimal progress.

The new complaint against Mr Al Amiri presents a critical test for prosecutors in Wasit, who must determine whether to summon a prominent political leader whose faction belongs to the ruling coalition. For the families of the victims, the case highlights years of stagnation, while for the government, the pursuit of accountability remains deeply intertwined with the broader political challenge of state disarmament.