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During Umrah.. Saudi Arabia Detains Iraqi Officer Involved in Suppressing 2019 Protests
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The arrest of the Iraqi officer sheds light again on the tragedy of the Olive Bridge massacre and recalls the scale of repression faced by Iraqi protesters during the 2019 protests
Informed sources revealed that Saudi security agencies arrested an Iraqi officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel while performing Umrah rituals in Mecca. Shafaq News Agency, quoting its source, reported that Saudi authorities arrested Lieutenant Colonel Omar Nizar, and the public prosecutor decided to refer him to the State Security Agency for investigation.
Lieutenant Colonel Omar Nizar is one of the officers of the Iraqi Rapid Response Forces and faces serious accusations of involvement in committing what is known as the Olive Bridge massacre in Dhi Qar Governorate.
An Iraqi court had previously issued a life imprisonment sentence against him, but the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Faiq Zidan, intervened to overturn the verdict and release Nizar, citing insufficient evidence, in a move that sparked widespread controversy.
On June 26, 2023, a judicial source in Dhi Qar reported the issuance of a judicial ruling against Lieutenant Colonel Omar Nizar over the Olive Bridge massacre. The source explained that the Dhi Qar Criminal Court issued a life imprisonment sentence against Nizar based on Article 406 of the Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, as amended.
The events of the Olive Bridge massacre date back to the period between November 28 and 30, 2019, when the city of Nasiriyah, the center of Dhi Qar Governorate, witnessed a series of systematic killings targeting Iraqi protesters. These bloody events occurred in the aftermath of the burning of the Iranian consulate in Najaf by one day.
The death toll in this massacre reached about 70 killed and more than 225 wounded on November 28, while 15 demonstrators and 157 wounded fell on the 30th of the same month. These tragic events led to the dismissal of Lieutenant General Jamil Al-Shammari from his position as head of the crisis cell tasked with addressing the situations in the southern governorates.
Amid these accelerating events, Iraqi Prime Minister at the time, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, announced on November 29, 2019, his intention to submit his resignation to parliament.
On the same day, both the governor of Dhi Qar, Adel Al-Dakhili, and the province's police chief, Muhammad Zaidan Al-Quraishi, submitted their resignations. Al-Quraishi had issued an order before his resignation to withdraw all security forces to their headquarters and prevent the use of live ammunition.
However, these resignations did not succeed in calming the anger of the demonstrators, especially with the continuation of violence in Nasiriyah and Najaf. As a result, the Iraqi parliament agreed on December 1 to accept Abdul-Mahdi's resignation, which he had formally submitted to Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi on November 30, 2019.
The arrest of Lieutenant Colonel Omar Nizar in Saudi Arabia raises many questions about the fate of the case and the extent to which he can be tried on Saudi soil or handed over to Iraqi authorities. It also sheds light again on the issue of justice for the victims and their families, and on the urgent need to hold accountable those responsible for the violations committed against peaceful demonstrators in Iraq.
Levant-Agencies
