Human rights and democracy advocates say that to prevent any recurrence of the upheaval that occurred four years ago, the government seeks to limit independent voices in the public square, using lawsuits, detentions, online harassment, threats and occasionally kidnapping or assassination. Often it is unclear exactly which acts violate public order and morality, according to the U.S. State Department’s most recent report on human rights, as well as a report by Human Rights Watch and other free speech and human rights organizations.

Um Fahad, the social media influencer who was dancing on her son’s birthday, said she still did not understand why she was arrested and imprisoned. “The judge asked me why I am dancing and showing part of my breast,” she said in an interview, after her release from jail.

Dr. Ali al-Bayati, a former member of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission who now lives outside Iraq because of lawsuits and threats against him, said, “The idea is to silence any criticism, anything that can instigate the public, change the public attitude and anything that might in the future escalate public unrest.”

The commission itself has been largely silenced. In 2021, the federal court stripped commissioners of their immunity, making them vulnerable to financially crippling lawsuits from any politician, government ministry or party. That curbed the commission’s efforts to hold to account Iraqi government officials or institutions for human rights violations under Iraqi and international law.

With this critical watchdog neutered, politicians, parties and people connected to religious organizations have been refining their efforts to reduce public criticism of the government and government figures, creating an atmosphere that reinforces self-censorship.

For its part, the Iraqi government says journalists and democracy organizations in the country have many more freedoms than was the case under Saddam Hussein, when the press was entirely government-controlled. Officials note accurately that when government critics are pursued in court, in the majority of cases they eventually prevail. However, this does not take into account that detention, even if the person is released or the case dropped, can damage a person’s livelihood or family.