Baghdad police arrest father for torturing daughter to ‘force her into begging’

BAGHDAD — Police in Rusafa, Baghdad, arrested a man accused of torturing his 12-year-old daughter with burns from a heated knife to force her into begging, authorities said Wednesday.

The Baghdad Police Command stated that officers from Al-Malab Police Station found the girl wandering alone in the Baladiyat area during a routine patrol. She showed visible signs of physical abuse and claimed her father had subjected her to torture and severe beatings.

Following an investigation, police located her home in the Obaidi neighborhood and arrested her father.

“During interrogation, he confessed to burning his daughter with a heated knife in multiple areas of her body to force her into begging,” police said in a statement.

The suspect has been detained, and legal proceedings are underway.

Child abuse remains a serious issue in Iraq, with several similar cases reported in recent months. On Feb. 2, 2025, Karbala police arrested a man accused of hitting a young girl after a disturbing video circulated on social media.

In November, domestic Violence Police in Najaf arrested a father and stepmother for allegedly torturing a six-year-old girl. Police in Baghdad’s Al-Rusafa also arrested a father who appeared to be seen in a viral video beating his daughter, whose injuries required immediate hospitalization.

A June 9 report by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior revealed that nearly 14,000 domestic and family violence cases were recorded in the first five months of 2024.