Outrage in Iraq after female detainee allegedly gang-raped by police, prison officials

Outrage has erupted in Iraq following the alleged gang-rape of a 26-year-old female detainee by three police personnel and a duty officer at Al-Nahda Police Station in Diwaniyah province in late July. Investigations began after surveillance cameras at the station were found to be turned off. Sundus Al-Mousawi, head of the Women and Children Committee on the Diwaniyah Provincial Council, stated that officers confessed to the crime after questioning. The victim, described as an orphan with four children, was detained under Article 248 for alleged deceit in a legal case. Human rights activists highlight that social stigma often silences victims, despite the Interior Ministry's statement that it "will not tolerate any violation that harms human dignity."