Families of missing persons in Anbar allege pressure to stay silent

ANBAR, Iraq — Relatives of people who went missing in the district of al-Saklawiya in Iraq's Anbar province say they have come under pressure from parties claiming ties to security institutions to stop speaking publicly about the fate of their loved ones, a security source at the Anbar Governorate said. The source told reporters that those parties had issued indirect threats urging the families not to talk to the media, and that some households had chosen to remain silent as a result. Mohammed al-Aqashi, whose family has been searching for answers for more than a decade, said seven of his relatives remain unaccounted for and that the family has still received no official response. Civil society representative Yusuf al-Kubaisi said freedom of expression is constitutionally protected and cannot be restricted by any authority, describing the missing persons file as both a legal obligation and a humanitarian and national responsibility. He called on official bodies to protect the families and clarify the fate of the missing. The families are demanding that Anbar's representatives in the federal government and the Iraqi parliament take concrete steps to address the issue. No further details were immediately available.