Independent Iraqi MP and lawyer Sajjad Salem is facing charges of “insulting” the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces in wake of statements he made last week demanding the merger of the armed organization with the security forces.
A court in Salem’s native Waset province demanded that parliament lift the immunity of the MP so that he could appear before the judiciary.
If convicted, he could face imprisonment of no more than a year and a fine.
Salem told Asharq Al-Awsat that the complaint actually dates back to 2022 and it seems the PMF has opened the file again.
“I am not afraid,” he declared. “The PMF has actually filed some 2,000 complaints against me in recent years.”
“I will head to court and defend myself. I have a lot of lawsuits to file against them, especially against some of their figures and media platforms that have committed slander against me and my family,” he added.
Speaking last week during a commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the eruption of anti-government protests in 2019, Salem called for incorporating the PMF with the security forces.
He also held Shiite forces responsible for the killing and injury some 1,000 protesters during the 2019 demonstrations.
“The killing of the protesters was driven by political forces that incited against the rallies. I take full responsibility for my statements. Political Shiite Islam is behind the bloodshed,” he said.
He explained that merging the PMF with the security forces would prevent Iran from exercising its influence through the leaders of PMF factions and militias.
Salem was one of the most prominent figures of the anti-government protests and a vocal critic of the factions that were involved in cracking down on the rallies.
He has also heavily criticized Iraqi authorities for failing to bring the perpetrators to justice despite the evidence against them.
Head of the Sadrist movement cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had previously made a similar demand on merging the PMF with the security forces.
In August 2017, he told protesters in Baghdad that incorporating it with the security forces would bring the PMF strictly under state control.
