The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) on Sunday called on the government and security forces to investigate the fate of activist and physician Siba al-Mahdawi who was abducted in Baghdad on Saturday night by an unknown group.
The commission said al-Mahdawi was returning from Tahrir Square in the Iraqi capital when she was abducted.
Al-Mahdawi’s mother said she had been abducted by “armed, masked men on pick-up trucks” as she headed home from Tahrir square late on Saturday evening.
The semi-official body called on the government and the security forces to reveal her where about.
It called al-Mahdawi’s abduction “a mark of shame for the whole of Iraqi society.”
Al-Mahdawi was one of several doctors who have volunteered to provide medical aid to the protesters.
On Sunday, Iraqi protesters blocked roads in Baghdad to raise pressure on the government to resign after more than a week of renewed mass demonstrations.
Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi met with top security officials late Saturday, stressing the need to preserve peace, security and the safety of the protesters.
Since October 25, Iraq has witnessed a wave of anti-government protests, the second of its kind after two weeks before.
The protesters initially demanded better public services, job creation and anti-corruption before they raised their demands to topple the government after the army and security forces used excessive violence against them, which the government has acknowledged and promised to hold those responsible to account.
-with The Associated Press
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