• US Treasury: Al-Fayyadh was part of a “crisis cell” formed to suppress Iraqi protests
• The US will hold accountable human rights abusers in Iraq who aim to deny the Iraqi people in their efforts to peacefully protest: Mnuchin

Arab News

LONDON: Sanctions have been placed on Hashd Al-Shaabi chairman and former Iraqi National Security Advisor Falih Al-Fayyadh for his alleged connection to serious human rights abuses, the US Department of the Treasury said on Friday.

According to the department, Al-Fayyadh was part of a “crisis cell” made up mostly of Hashd Al-Shaabi militia leaders formed in late 2019 to suppress the Iraqi protests that began in October 2019, with the support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iraqi civilians were demonstrating against corruption, unemployment, economic stagnation and Iranian interference in Iraq’s domestic affairs during the protests and Iran-aligned elements of Hashd Al-Shaabi attacked them, the department added.

“By directing and supervising the murder of peaceful Iraqi demonstrators, Iran-aligned militants and politicians such as Falih Al-Fayyadh have been waging a violent campaign against Iraqi democracy and civil society,” the Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said.

“The United States will continue to hold accountable human rights abusers in Iraq who aim to deny the Iraqi people in their efforts to peacefully protest, seek justice, and root out corruption in their country,” Mnuchin added.

Hashd Al-Shaabi has close ties to Tehran but is overseen by the Iraqi government, with Al-Fayyadh its chairman and top commander.