Alkarama is gravely concerned about the situation of Mr Al-Dainy. We fear that Mr Al-Dainy who is currently detained in an unknown place is being subjected to torture and/or ill-treatment.  It is with great seriousness that we also fear for Mr Al-Dainy's life.

We urge all human rights organisations and individuals to issue urgent appeals and actions on Mr Al-Dainy's behalf.

Alkarama has sent urgent appeals today on behalf of Mr Al-Dainy to the United Nations Human Rights protection procedures: the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq and also to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (which is the international organization of Parliaments of sovereign States).

Arrest and Abduction of Mr Al-Dainy

Mr Al-Dainy was arrested yesterday, on Wednesday 25 February 2009, by Iraqi security forces who boarded a plane he was on, which had been returned mid-flight en-route to Amman, Jordan (where Mr Al-Dainy was travelling with a parliamentary delegation).

Mr Al-Dainy is being accused by the Iraqi authorities of masterminding a suicide bombing of the Iraqi Parliament on 12 April 2007 which killed eight people, including a colleague from his own political party, Mr Mohammad Awad.

Mr Al-Dainy refutes all these allegations and it is clear they are politically motivated and  in retribution for his work in the defence of human rights in Iraq, and in particular of the exposure of ‘secret' and illegal prisons in Iraq.

The false allegations are based on "confessions" made by a nephew of Mr Al-Dainy's, and his head of security after they were arrested. Mr Al-Dainy informed Alkarama and a press conference that it is clear these "confessions" were obtained as a result of torture "these [accusations] are fabrications...It was clear they (his bodyguards) were tortured when they were shown on television".

Mr Al-Dainy has now been abducted by government forces. Although his arrest was witnessed by four members of parliament, upon enquiry by these witnesses, the Iraqi authorities deny knowledge of Mr Al-Dainy's whereabouts.  They are now falsely claiming he left the airport and is now a fugitive. However, according to eye-witness accounts it is not possible Mr Al-Dainy could have been released from the airport. He was taken from inside the plane, in the presence of other passengers and then taken from the airport in a convoy of security force vehicles. Given Mr Al-Dainy's whereabouts are now unknown, he is clearly  in serious danger in Iraq.

Mr Al-Dainy's family is also being victimized and they are in a state of total fear. Many members have been arrested, their homes have been ransacked and their cars have been set on fire.

Background information on Mr Al-Dainy

Mr Al-Dainy is an opposition MP elected to parliament in March 2006, as part of the National Dialogue Front. He has been actively working for the promotion and protection of human rights of all Iraqis since his election, in particular investigating secret illegal prisons by using his parliamentary privileges to enter into these places of detention.

During his time as a member of parliament, Mr Al Dainy has gathered an impressive amount of first-hand testimonies and confidential documentation regarding conditions of detention in Iraq, secret prisons, illegal prisons and human rights violations.

Mr Al-Dainy visited Geneva in October 2008, as a guest of our organization to meet and inform the OHCHR, NGOs and other organisations of the human rights situation in Iraq .  He provided confidential information to Alkarama on the human rights situation in Iraq which we shared with the OHCHR special procedures earlier this year.

Mr Al-Dainy was on the point of establishing a local organization for the defense and protection of human rights in Iraq to cooperate with the UN human rights mechanisms and organisations with whom he met in Geneva. This initiative was to occur in partnership with our organisation.

It is very clear that his work denouncing human rights violations in Iraq, and his recent visit to Geneva as a human rights defender are the reason for the authorities' actions against Mr Al-Dainy and his family. We fear for his safety, as the authorities deny that they are holding him. We also advise that Mr Al-Dainy has already been the target of several assassination attempts, the authors of which have never been identified.

CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS

March 2006 Mr Mohammad Al-Dainy is elected to the Iraqi Parliament as one of 11 members of the National Dialogue Front. He describes himself as a nationalist and is based in Baghdad. His wife and daughter and other family members live in Jordan.

Upon taking office, Mr Al-Dainy considered that part of his constitutional role, by being part of the legislature, was to monitor the Institutions in Iraq, to ensure they are operating in accordance with the law, and respecting human rights. For this reason, he concentrated his work on the prisons and detention centres in Iraq.

Mr Al Dainy was able to gain access to confidential information and places of detention due to his status as a member of parliament. In particular, to gain access into ‘secret’ prisons, he needed to use the protection of his body-guards, which numbers some 50 persons.

Since 2006, he has therefore seen many violations of human rights and has undertaken investigations into the secret prisons in Iraq. He has interviewed detainees, collected footage and confidential documentation to substantiate his investigations. He has shared his findings with the media and international organizations.

Eleven members of Mr Al Dainy’s were killed during 2006 due the work which he carried out uncovering a secret prison, Dyalah.

12 April 2007 There is a suicide bombing in the Iraqi Parliament cafeteria. Eight are killed including a member of Mr Al-Dainy’s party, Mr Mohammad Awad.

May 2007 Mr Al-Dainy travels to Washington DC to speak on the political situation in Iraq from his perspective as a member of parliament. He meets with various members of Congress.

Mid-2007 BBC Channel 4 broadcasts the documentary “Iraq: The Death Squads” by Channel 4’s Deborah Davies (which won the prestigious British Royal Television Society Award for International Current Affairs in 2007). This documentary relies upon interviews given by Mr Al-Dainy as well as confidential information he obtained and provided.

4 September 2008 Al Sharqiyya Iraqi TV channel has been reporting on Iraq for many years. In September, they aired a documentary about human rights in Iraq, including footage obtained from Mr Al-Dainy’s investigations into secret prisons and human rights abuses against prisoners. As a consequence, four staff members at Al Sharqiyya are assassinated in Iraq.

27-31 October 2008 In collaboration with Alkarama and the Arab Lawyers Associations, Mr Al-Dainy travelled from Baghdad to Geneva, Switzerland to share the information and footage he has collected – all of which show the gross human rights abuses which are occurring in Iraq by the security forces, in particular regarding secret detention.

Mr Al Dainy also focused on the dangers members of parliament have faced in Iraq. Parliamentarians have been persecuted for their independent work, with either themselves or members of their families being killed (such as Salah Al Akaly who lost his life, or Saim Khardum whose son and husband were killed) and some have gone on to lost their immunity (Nethal Al Lusi).

Mr Al-Dainy advised that he had been the target of 8 assassination attempts and there are real concerns to fear for his safety. The most recent assassination attempt was in April 2008, and two of his bodyguards were killed. For this reason he has an entourage of 50 bodyguards (normally Iraqi parliamentarians have a paid entourage of 30 bodyguards).

Mr Al-Dainy also expressed fears that he may be the subject of false accusations for his human rights work, and that like other MPs, he may lose his immunity.

Mr Al-Dainy met with UNHCR, ICRC, Special Procedures at the OHCHR and the Iraqi desk and with numerous international NGOs, including Amnesty International. He also participated in a press-conference at the Swiss Press Club and at a public meeting held in central-Geneva.

These were all very constructive meetings, and at all meetings it was agreed that the concerned organisations wanted to continue working with Mr Al-Dainy upon his return to Iraq.

A consistent theme which Mr Al-Dainy heard during his meetings in Geneva was that despite the presence of UNAMI and its monitoring and reporting activities, organisations who are working in Iraq or about Iraq feel unable to obtain information about what is happening - more importantly, they are unable to obtain reliable, credible up to date information about the situation.

Among the confidential information shared by Mr Al Dainy is a Ministry of Human Rights Annual Report for 2007 which has never been published in full. Mr Al-Dainy obtained a confidential copy which reveals a fuller picture of the extent of human rights violations in Iraq and shared it with relevant parties in Geneva.

January/February 2009 Mr Al-Dainy’s nephew, Mr Riad Ibrahim Al-Dainy, (who was acting as his bodyguard) and his head of security Alaa Khairallah al-Maliki, are arrested by government forces, along with others.

22 February 2009, Sunday Some 3 months after his visit to the Geneva and the United Nations, Mr Al-Dainy is accused of being behind a suicide bombing of Iraqi Parliament at a press conference by Major General Qassem Atta, spokesperson for Baghdad’s military security command.

This accusation is based upon a video “confession” of Mr Al-Dainy’s nephew and head of security, which was broadcast to journalists and on national TV by the Major-General.

Mr Al-Dainy refutes the accusations during a press conference held at Al-Rashid hotel. Security forces surround Al-Rashid Hotel. Mr Al Dainy informed Alkarama that due to the confusion regarding the status of his parliamentary immunity he was not arrested at this time. He also informs Alkarama that the ‘confessions’ of his nephew and head of security were obtained under torture and he has stated this publicly, “these [accusations] are fabrications…It was clear they (his bodyguards) were tortured when they were shown on television”. (The Daily Star, 26 February 2009).

It is announced that the Military Security Command has made a request to the judicial authorities for Mr Al-Dainy’s immunity to be removed and that he is to be banned from travelling (Media source: The Daily Star, Monday 23 February 2009 “MP ‘ordered’ Iraq Parliament bombing”).

23 February 2009, Monday Mr Al-Dainy gives interview to Al-Sharqiya TV satellite network refuting the allegations and they are an act of revenge by the government of Prime Minster Nuri al-Maliki for the criticism he made of the treatment of prisoners. (Media source: Alarabiya, Monday 23 February 2009, “Iraqi lawmaker denies bomb, murder allegations”).

He said that the arrests of his bodyguards was a politically motivated act by the government, with the aim of putting pressure on him. (CNN.com, 22 February 2009, “Lawmaker linked to attacks, Iraqi authorities say”).

Military spokesman Qassim Moussawi states the authorities are waiting for the courts to issue an arrest warrant for Mr Al-Dainy, after which they would ask parliament to lift his immunity. (Media source: Alarabiya, Monday 23 February 2009, “Iraqi lawmaker denies bomb, murder allegations”).

Mr Al-Dainy speaks with Alkarama and advises that at least 13 members of his staff and family have been arrested and also that his offices were searched and ransacked by government security forces (without a warrant being presented).

25 February 2009, Wednesday The plane on which Mr Al-Dainy was flying to Amman, Jordan is turned back 30 minutes after take-off.

A plain clothed security officer entered the plane and there were armed officers at the door of the plane. Mr Al-Dainy was told he must disembark. This occurred in the presence of other passengers and the following four Iraqi Members of Parliament – Maysoon Al Damlouji, Ahmed Radi, Ali Al Sajri, Assaad Al Issaoui. Mr Al-Dainy then left the plane with two of the Members of Parliament, including Mr Al Sajri.

Mr Al-Dainy and his colleagues asked to see the security officer’s warrant and he angrily responded that he was acting under orders from the Prime Minister Maliki which were given to the Federal Prosecutor. These orders were that Mr Al-Dainy was to be banned from travelling and there was to be an order for his arrest. Mr Al-Dainy and the other MPs asked for documentation for these orders. Not receiving any documentation they were handed back their passports and they left the airport.

According to accounts, Mr Al-Dainy then left the airport with Mr Al Sajri. However, approximately 5km into the journey, just before approaching a government checkpoint, fearing for his life Mr Al-Dainy exited the car on the highway. Mr Al-Dainy was afraid for his imminent safety and told Mr Al Sajir, ‘if they take me, they will kill me’. This area is under tight control by the Iraqi government, officially being handed over to the Iraqi National Police on 24 January 2009 (Multi-National Force Iraq, 26.01.09). Given the context and circumstances, Mr Al Sajrii believes that Mr Al-Dainy must have been apprehended by government security forces, and estimates the chances of Mr Al-Dainy being at liberty as almost nil.

Mr Al-Dainy has not been seen since this time. His family have had no contact with him. Media reports cite government sources stating that Mr Al-Dainy was released or he ‘slipped out’ of the airport and he is now a fugitive (New York Times, “Lawmaker Leaving Iraq is Detained, Then Freed”, Marc Santora, 26 February 2009.) Mr Al-Dainy’s immunity was lifted by the parliament during an emergency session.

26 February 2009, Thursday Mr Al-Dainy’s brother was in contact with the Legal Director at Alkarama, Rachid Mesli. He is Mr Al-Dainy’s Chief of Staff. He advised the Iraqi security forces have been to all the home of Mr Al-Dainy’s family members. Their houses have been ransacked by security forces and they burned cars of all relatives and those close to Mr Al-Dainy.

Many family members have been arrested including Mr Al-Dainy’s 85 year old father. These are clear reprisals against his family.

The last thing Mr Al-Dainy said to his brother was that “they are probably going to arrest me for my trip to Geneva.” – referring to his October 2008 trip to Geneva where he met with UN human rights procedures, NGOs, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNHCR and held a press conference to highlight the serious violations of human rights in Iraq.