Maysan police arrest two over attack on university law dean

MAYSAN — Police in Maysan have arrested two suspects in the attack on Hassanein Diaa Nouri, dean of the University of Maysan’s College of Law, who was beaten near his home in Amarah on Friday night.

The two were detained within two hours of the attack after surveillance and intelligence work led on the ground by the Maysan police chief, Maysan Police Command said in a statement. Police also seized a Land Cruiser belonging to the suspects and are searching for the others involved.

A group of people attacked Nouri with sharp objects and sticks near his home in southern Amarah, the governorate’s capital, at about 10 p.m. Friday, according to the university. He was taken to a hospital with bruises and wounds.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive. A video circulating online showed Nouri in poor physical condition after the assault.

Higher Education Minister Haider Bahaa al-Hasani called Nouri overnight to check on his health, condemned the attack and said he was following the legal case, the ministry said in a statement.

Hasani, whom parliament approved last month, also called University of Maysan President Adel Manea and told him to work with the security and judicial authorities to identify the attackers, take legal action against them and bring them to justice. He said those involved must be held to account under the law.

The university said unidentified people carried out the attack and called it a serious violation of the safety of teaching staff and of the standing of university professors.

“Targeting an academic figure known for his scholarly standing and moderation represents unacceptable and condemnable behavior,” the university said in a statement. It said the attack was an attempt to disrupt the work of educational institutions at the start of the new academic year.

The university called on the security and government authorities to pursue the attackers and bring them before the courts, and praised their quick response. It said professors and university staff need protection so they can work in a safe and stable environment.

Attacks on teaching staff have drawn growing concern in Iraq. In January, a group of lawmakers proposed treating assaults on teachers as an assault on the state itself, after a string of attacks on teachers and school staff in 2025, so that criminal cases could be filed without waiting for a complaint from the victim.