11 activists in Baghdad arrested

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: An eye witness said that a military force raided an NGO, known as Where is My Right, and arrested 11 persons, including its secretary general, in suspicion for their relationship with the organizers of Tahreer Square demonstrations. “Four Hummer military vehicles and two 4-wheel drive cars surrounded the organization premises in Maidan Square, in the center of Baghdad, where they searched it and destroyed its computers,” the source told IraqiNews.com. On the other hand, an activist said on the Facebook page for the Tahreer Square demonstrations, that the organization is an NGO that participated in organizing the demonstrations. The arrested persons were meeting to discuss how to release the four activists who were arrested last Friday. One of the activists in (Iraqi Streets for Change) told IraqiNews.com yesterday that the arrested four were among 250 demonstrators gathered in Tahreer Square, who were criticizing the failure of the government in rendering better services, despite the 100-day time table set by Premier Nouri Al-Maliki to improve the work of the ministries and provinces. Premier Maliki set on 28 February 2011 a period of 100 days that ends on 7 June next to evaluate the work of the government and provinces, following massive demonstrations held in Baghdad and a number of provinces on 25 February last, that called for eradicating corruption, improvement of services , better social standards of living and combating unemployment. RM (TS)/SR 807