Fact-Finding Committee to Investigate Iraqi Protests

A protester waves the national flag during clashes with security forces in central Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 20, 2020. (AP)
A protester waves the national flag during clashes with security forces in central Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 20, 2020. (AP)
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Fact-Finding Committee to Investigate Iraqi Protests

A protester waves the national flag during clashes with security forces in central Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 20, 2020. (AP)
A protester waves the national flag during clashes with security forces in central Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 20, 2020. (AP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi formed on Sunday a fact-finding committee to investigate the bloody events and the killing of demonstrators in anti-government protests that emerged across the country one year ago.

More than 500 protesters were shot dead by security forces and gunmen suspected of links to militias during protests calling for change late in 2019. Thousands of others were injured.

Kadhimi confirmed that whoever was involved in any crime will be brought to justice.

"The formation of this committee represents the rebirth of the values of the state that seeks justice and fairness,” he said during his meeting with members of the fact-finding committee formed to investigate the events of October of last year.

The fact-finding committee includes five retired judges, backed by several investigators and experts.

Kadhimi’s advisor Hisham Daoud said the judges were chosen based on integrity, experience and professionalism. He said the judges were not influenced by any party whatsoever, and that they will investigate the events objectively, and the necessary protection will be provided to them independently and professionally.

Asked about the time that the committee needs to announce the outcomes of its investigation, he said it is difficult for the executive authority to impose on the judicial authority a time limit to search for the truth.

Activist Moussa Rahmallah told Asharq Al-Awsat that the committee needs at least three years to end its work.

“In principle, establishing the committee is something good, however, the problem is with the measures that follow and the timetable for announcing the outcome of the investigation,” he said.

Rahmallah added that activists are preparing for a massive demonstration to celebrate the first anniversary of the October intifada.



US Mideast Envoy: Trump's Gaza Plan is About Better Prospects, Not Eviction

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
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US Mideast Envoy: Trump's Gaza Plan is About Better Prospects, Not Eviction

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

The United States' envoy to the Middle East said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza was not about evicting Palestinians, and the conversation about Gaza's future was being shifted towards how to create a better future for Palestinians.
Trump proposed on February 4 the US should take over Gaza, with Palestinians resettled in other places including Egypt and Jordan, a suggestion which caused an international outcry.
However, speaking at a Miami conference hosted by a non-profit, US envoy Steven Witkoff said that Trump's comments on Gaza were more about trying different solutions to those proposed over the previous 50 years, Reuters reported.
He said that the war between Israel and Hamas has left much of Gaza destroyed and littered with unexploded ordnance, and it was impossible to see how people could return.
"It's going to take a lot of clean-up and imagination, and a great master plan, and that doesn't mean we're on an eviction plan, when the President talks about this," Steven Witkoff told the FII Institute event.
"It means he wants to shake up everyone's thinking, and think about what is compelling and what is the best solution for the Palestinian people.
"For instance, do they want to live in a home there, or would they rather have an opportunity to resettle in some sort of better place, to have jobs, upside and financial prospects," he added.