After his abduction, Al-Janabi was taken to the camp where he had been living with his family since they fled Jurf Sakhar after the Islamic State took control of the town. Al-Janabi was kept in the camp, handcuffed until about 10pm, when the men drove him to an unknown location in the direction of the Babil Province. His arrest was witnessed by several inhabitants of the camp, including his mother and other relatives.

Concerned over his fate and hoping to disclose his whereabouts, Al-Janabi’s family inquired about him at the Jourf al-Sakhr police station and at the Intelligence of Babil, but to no avail. They then turned to Alkarama and Al Wissam Humanitarian Assembly, which on 8 April 2016, seized the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), hoping that this mechanism for the protection of human rights can help locate him.

Enforced disappearances: a widespread practice in Iraq

The Kataib Hezbollah militia increased its power and legitimacy by fighting against the IS along with the Iraqi army after the group seized control of territories in the northwest of the country. In June 2014, the militia was incorporated into the "People's Mobilisation" or "al-Hashd al-Shaabi", a state-sponsored umbrella organisation composed of about 40 militias.

Alkarama recalls that the practice of enforced disappearance is widespread in Iraq, as noted by the CED in September 2015, when this UN Committee analysed the situation of enforced disappearance in Iraq. On that occasion, the UN experts called upon the Iraqi authorities to ensure that all persons who were forcibly disappeared and whose fate is not yet known are searched for and located without delay.

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