An Iraqi businessman facing corruption-related charges arbitrarily detained and tortured
Name(s):
Bahaa Abdul Hussein Abdul Hadi
Status:
Free
Year of birth:
1969
Profession:
Businessperson and manager of Smart Card Company, Qi Card
Nationality:
Iraqi
Date of arrest:
Bahaa Abdul Hussein Abdul Hadi is an Iraqi businessman and the manager of Smart Card Company, Qi Card. On September 17, 2020, he was arrested by members of the Anti-Corruption Committee established on the basis of Executive Order No. 29, also known as “Diwaniya Committee No. 29” (Committee No. 29). Abdul Hadi was sentenced to one year and 9 months’ imprisonment with a fine of ten million Iraqi Dinars, following trials that did not respect due process guarantees. He notably alleged that he had been subjected to torture while being secretly detained. He was held at Al-Rusafa prison 2, while the UN Working Group has stated that his detention is arbitrary.
Bahaa Abdul Hussein Abdul is a businessperson and the manager of Smart Card Company, Qi Card.
On September 17, 2020, Abdul Hadi was planning to travel abroad. He was arrested without an arrest warrant by members of Committee No. 29 at Baghdad International Airport.
After Abdul Hadi’s arrest, he was not allowed to communicate with his family or a lawyer. The family and his lawyers were only able to see Abdul Hadi 40 days after his arrest.
From September 2020 to January 2021, Abdul Hadi was subjected to various types of physical and psychological torture including beatings with sticks, waterboarding, suffocation with plastic bags, hanging by his legs and hands, electric shocks on his sensitive body parts, the use of the “falqa” method, deprivation of sleep and food, as well as threats of raping his family members, extortion and bargaining over the company.
His trial took place before the Central Criminal Court of Anti-Corruption on January 24, 2021. He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on the same day, even though the court ordered the completion of a medical examination that resulted in the issuance of medical reports attesting that he had been subjected to torture.
In 2021, Abdul Hadi’s lawyer submitted a request for a retrial to the Supreme Judicial Council, which was granted. The retrial took place on December 5, 2022, after which the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court sentenced Abdul Hadi to one year and 9 months’ imprisonment with a fine of ten million Iraqi Dinars. In January 2023, Abdul Hadi’s lawyer appealed his sentence, and the case is still pending.
Abdul Hadi is currently detained at Al-Rusafa prison 2 in Baghdad.
On March 2, 2022, the Federal Court announced the dissolution of Committee No. 29 as the basis for its establishment was unconstitutional.
On December 24, 2022, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office announced that they had referred 3000 complaints of violations committed by Committee No. 29 to the Public Prosecutor.
On March 7, 2023, MENA Rights Group seized the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) asking the UN experts to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention.
On March 9, 2023, Abdul Hadi was released after he finished the term of his sentence.
On August 28, 2023, the WGAD adopted the Opinion that Abdul Hadi’s detention is arbitrary and urged Iraqi authorities to remedy his situation.
On December 11, 2023, Abdul Hadi was acquitted of all charges by the Court of Cassation.
On July 30, 2025, the Karkh Criminal Court of Appeal convicted two individuals responsible for acts of torture committed against Abdul Hadi, pursuant to article 333 of the Iraqi Penal Code. Each defendant was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, and detained.
The evidence used in trial included: a forensic medical report from the Forensic Medicine Department documenting physical torture; a forensic psychiatric report from the Ministry of Health documenting psychological torture; a ministerial investigation conducted by the Iraqi Ministry of Justice corroborating the existence of both physical and psychological torture; a report prepared by the parliamentary committee that conducted a visit during Abdul Hadi’s detention; and witness testimony from individuals present during the commission of the acts of torture.
According to his family, MENA Rights Group’s legal advocacy on the case of Abdul Hadi was notably used by the court in order to reach its verdict.
On September 21, 2025, the Court of Cassation, acting pursuant to Article 259 of the Iraqi Code of Criminal Procedure, remanded the matter to the Criminal Court for retrial of both defendants with a view to increasing the two years' imprisonment sentence.
| Name(s): |
Bahaa Abdul Hussein Abdul Hadi
|
| Status: |
Free
|
| Year of birth: |
1969
|
| Profession: |
Businessperson and manager of Smart Card Company, Qi Card
|
| Nationality: |
Iraqi
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Bahaa Abdul Hussein Abdul is a businessperson and the manager of Smart Card Company, Qi Card.
On September 17, 2020, Abdul Hadi was planning to travel abroad. He was arrested without an arrest warrant by members of Committee No. 29 at Baghdad International Airport.
After Abdul Hadi’s arrest, he was not allowed to communicate with his family or a lawyer. The family and his lawyers were only able to see Abdul Hadi 40 days after his arrest.
From September 2020 to January 2021, Abdul Hadi was subjected to various types of physical and psychological torture including beatings with sticks, waterboarding, suffocation with plastic bags, hanging by his legs and hands, electric shocks on his sensitive body parts, the use of the “falqa” method, deprivation of sleep and food, as well as threats of raping his family members, extortion and bargaining over the company.
His trial took place before the Central Criminal Court of Anti-Corruption on January 24, 2021. He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on the same day, even though the court ordered the completion of a medical examination that resulted in the issuance of medical reports attesting that he had been subjected to torture.
In 2021, Abdul Hadi’s lawyer submitted a request for a retrial to the Supreme Judicial Council, which was granted. The retrial took place on December 5, 2022, after which the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court sentenced Abdul Hadi to one year and 9 months’ imprisonment with a fine of ten million Iraqi Dinars. In January 2023, Abdul Hadi’s lawyer appealed his sentence, and the case is still pending.
Abdul Hadi is currently detained at Al-Rusafa prison 2 in Baghdad.
On March 2, 2022, the Federal Court announced the dissolution of Committee No. 29 as the basis for its establishment was unconstitutional.
On December 24, 2022, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office announced that they had referred 3000 complaints of violations committed by Committee No. 29 to the Public Prosecutor.
On March 7, 2023, MENA Rights Group seized the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) asking the UN experts to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention.
On March 9, 2023, Abdul Hadi was released after he finished the term of his sentence.
On August 28, 2023, the WGAD adopted the Opinion that Abdul Hadi’s detention is arbitrary and urged Iraqi authorities to remedy his situation.
On December 11, 2023, Abdul Hadi was acquitted of all charges by the Court of Cassation.
On July 30, 2025, the Karkh Criminal Court of Appeal convicted two individuals responsible for acts of torture committed against Abdul Hadi, pursuant to article 333 of the Iraqi Penal Code. Each defendant was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, and detained.
The evidence used in trial included: a forensic medical report from the Forensic Medicine Department documenting physical torture; a forensic psychiatric report from the Ministry of Health documenting psychological torture; a ministerial investigation conducted by the Iraqi Ministry of Justice corroborating the existence of both physical and psychological torture; a report prepared by the parliamentary committee that conducted a visit during Abdul Hadi’s detention; and witness testimony from individuals present during the commission of the acts of torture.
According to his family, MENA Rights Group’s legal advocacy on the case of Abdul Hadi was notably used by the court in order to reach its verdict.
On September 21, 2025, the Court of Cassation, acting pursuant to Article 259 of the Iraqi Code of Criminal Procedure, remanded the matter to the Criminal Court for retrial of both defendants with a view to increasing the two years' imprisonment sentence.
