MP launches a signature drive to summon the interior minister over the abduction of an environmental activist

Shafaq News/ Lawmaker Sajjad Salem on Wednesday said he launched a signature drive in the Iraqi parliament to summon the interior minister against the backdrop of an environmental activist's abduction two weeks ago.

Early in February, the prominent environmental activist, Jasem al-Asadi, was traveling on the road leading to southern Iraq when a group of unknown armed persons handcuffed him and drove him away toward an unknown destination.

"At a time the security forces are busy chasing Fashionistas and content creators on Tiktok and Instagram, they fail in doing their real and primary job," said Salem in a statement, "albeit two weeks have passed since the incident, they failed to Reveal the fate of the abducted environmental activist, Jasem al-Asadi."

The lawmaker dismissed abduction and forced disappearance as "major crime" and a "flagrant violation of human rights".

"Every time an activist, protestor, or intellectual is abducted, the security forces do the same: they assure the families and give them fruitless promises."

Salem said he collected signatures to summon the interior minister and the heads of the national security agency and federal intelligence agency.

The lawmaker urged his colleagues, civil activists, and protestors to "support him and avoid wasting time on peripheral issues."

Since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, al-Asadi has emerged as a leading environmental activist and expert, focusing mainly on Iraq's southern marshlands.

He founded the NGO Nature Iraq in the southern Dhi Qar governorate, which is known for its vast marshland.

Al-Asadi has become one of the few specialists in this field and the main trusted source for researchers and media.

He has been campaigning for more water to be released to the marshland and its inhabitants, launching the National Campaign to Save the Marshes with other activists and marsh residents late last year.

He has blamed the government for not drawing up the plans needed to save the marshes from the effects of climate change.

Some Iraqis have condemned the news, describing the kidnapping as "shocking" and "horrible", and demanding his immediate release.

Iraq is the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change, according to the UN Environment Programme.

Over the past three years, the country has experienced record temperatures that exceeded 50°C in many places during summer, insufficient and diminishing rainfall, and frequent sand and dust storms.

Coupled with the reduced water flow of its two main rivers after passing through Turkey and Iran, the extreme weather has intensified drought and water scarcity in Iraq.

Desertification affects 39 percent of the country and 54 per cent of its agricultural land has been degraded, mainly due to soil salinity caused by historically low river levels, less rain and rising sea levels.