On 25 February, armed forces attacked the house and arrested Himyar Salih Iqaal, the leader of the FWCUI agricultural union. According to the family, the perpetrators drove up in three army vehicles, looking like those of the “emergency forces«called Al Tawari’e, and no explanation was given for the intrusion. Prior to this, Himyar had been appointed head of the agricultural workers’ union after redistributing workers’ land which had been seized by semi-feudal militias who had used their authority to confiscate vast parts of land in the southern region of Iraq. The union believes that this»arrest" was retaliation by these militias.
After three months of illegal arrest, Himyar Salih was released on 5 May, after the false accusation of him being a «terrorist» was dropped due to lack of evidence.
