Baghdad-INA
The Martyrs Foundation confirmed on Friday that the victims of Speicher enjoy the same rights and privileges granted to victims of terrorism and military operations, while noting the formation of a high committee to internationalize the Speicher issue and seek recognition of it as genocide.
The Director of the Speicher, Badush Martyrs Department and legal advisor, Saad Rad Abbas, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The victims of Speicher enjoy the same rights and privileges granted to victims of terrorism and military operations, and they benefit from the rights and privileges stipulated in Law No. 20 of 2009, as amended by Law No. 57 of 2015."
He added that "the Martyrs Foundation has been conducting search, investigation and excavation work for mass graves since 2015, where 18 mass graves were opened, 1236 cases were collected and handed over to the Department of Forensic Medicine in accordance with proper records."
He noted that "identification has been carried out for approximately 1,076 cases, and the remains have been handed over to their families in ceremonies befitting martyrs, Furthermore, the Forensic Medicine Department has issued identification documents and death certificates for the identified cases."
Abbas explained that "following the establishment of the Speicher Martyrs Department, a committee was formed to internationalize the issue, chaired by the Martyrs Foundation and including members from the Supreme Judicial Council and the Ministries of Defense, Health, Culture, and Foreign Affairs." He pointed out that "the committee's tasks include internationalizing the issue, informing both domestic and international communities about the Speicher massacre, and working towards its recognition as a genocide."
He added that "the Foundation also formed a committee to follow up on the disbursement of the cash allowance for the second batch, in addition to creating a Speicher Martyrs Division within the Sadr Martyrs Directorate," noting that "the Council of Ministers approved the proposal to hold an annual silent vigil to commemorate the tragedy, in accordance with Resolution No. 222 of 2026, based on a proposal submitted by the Foundation."
He explained that "these measures come within the framework of doing justice to the families of the martyrs and commemorating their sacrifices, in addition to continuing to work on completing the rest of the related files."