On September 5, 2015, Al Jerifi was travelling by car from Fallujah towards Baghdad with his wife, mother-in-law and sister-in-law in order to flee the violence caused by ISIL’s occupation of the area.

When they arrived at Al Razaza checkpoint, close to Amiriya, a city in the Fallujah district of Al Anbar province, they were stopped by Hezbollah militias, who had their faces covered with black and green cloth. They asked for Al Jerifi’s ID, and after checking, confirmed that he was not on their wanted list. However, when they found out that the family was fleeing Fallujah, they asked Al Jerifi to step out of the car, alleging that he was a member of ISIL.

The Hezbollah militias are part of the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU) – an umbrella organisation composed of various militias that supported the Iraqi armed forces during the fight against ISIL. A prime minister’s decree issued on March 8, 2018 formally incorporated the group into the country’s security forces.

After arresting Al Jerifi, the militias instructed the driver to take the women back to Fallujah. When the women pleaded not to be sent back to the area, the militias threatened to open fire on them.

In October 2015, Al Jerefi’s family enquired about his fate and whereabouts at the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad, the Ammariah Court in Fallujah and the ICRC, but to no avail.