Iraq - Peaceful marchers shot by armed forces (2010)

On 6 October, a workers’ demonstration of some 2,000 workers in Baghdad was fired upon by armed forces. Many protestors were hit with rubber bullets while four workers were severely beaten and arrested: Thamir Hameed and Muhammad Khangar from a battery manufacturing industry; Muhammad Khamees from an electrical facility; and Munadhil Attia from the leather manufacturing industry. The marchers had requested and received a permit for the demonstration, which was a protest over pay, safety benefits, and workers dismissed from jobs for political reasons under the Saddam regime.