Nujaba demands release of those arrested for trampling U.S. flag

BAGHDAD — Harakat al-Nujaba demanded the immediate release of the people arrested for desecrating a U.S. flag at a Sovereignty Day parade in Baghdad, calling the detentions a “dangerous precedent” and saying they had been exercising freedom of expression by trampling American and Israeli flags.

“The arrest of young people who expressed their rejection of the Israeli and American regimes, describing them as terrorist and criminal, after they expressed their freedom by trampling their flags with their feet, in reference to what was committed under these flags, from the killing of thousands of innocent people in Iraq to the looting of the country’s resources and the violation of its sovereignty, is a dangerous precedent that cannot be ignored,” Abdul Qadir al-Karbalai, the group’s military deputy, wrote on X. “From this standpoint, we demand the immediate release of the detainees and respect for their right to express their opinions and positions. Death to America. Death to Israel. Yes to an Iraq that safeguards its sovereignty and decisions. Your crimes are under our feet.”

The spokesperson for the commander-in-chief said earlier on Sunday that those involved had been arrested on the orders of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, without saying how many, who they were or which group held the parade. Zaidi ordered an inquiry after U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson posted images on X that he said showed members of the Popular Mobilization Forces desecrating the flag. “If you needed any more proof that Iraq is an Iranian province… @IraqiPMO Zaidi is this what you think of America? Free Iraq from Iran,” Wilson wrote.

Nujaba is one of the factions refusing to hand over weapons. Karbalai said last month that the resistance and the PMF would remain “in spite of” Trump and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said on Sept. 30 that its four factions were not bound by any government timetable on weapons.

Zaidi declared the end of the U.S.-led coalition’s mission against the Islamic State group on Sept. 30, under a 2024 agreement with Washington, and the last U.S. and coalition forces left Erbil Air Base that day.