An AAH unofficial leadership-signal channel published a position statement on the arrest of a PMF field commander described as stationed in one of the hottest areas of the Baghdad Belt and responsible for an important file within the PMF Commission. The statement affirms that Iraq's security and judicial institutions are committed to applying the law and that each institution's procedures should be respected, then says what happened was a serious error of handling that could have been avoided had there been coordination with the relevant bodies from the outset, and calls the accompanying media campaign apparently systematic and deliberate. The commander is not named and no other tracked channel in the collected window addresses the arrest.
- Al-Sharwgy 313AAH — unofficial leadership signal channel18 Aug, 16:15
“We believe our security and judicial institutions are committed to applying the law, and each institution has its own contexts and procedures that should be respected, but what happened was a serious error in the manner of handling and procedure, and it could have been avoided had there been coordination and communication with the relevant bodies from the outset... More serious than that is the me”
نحن نؤمن بأن مؤسساتنا الأمنية والقضائية حريصة على تطبيق القانون، ولكل مؤسسة سياقاتها وإجراءاتها التي ينبغي أن تُحترم، لكن ما جرى، خطأ جسيم في طريقة التعامل والإجراء، وكان يمكن تفاديه لو جرى التنسيق والتواصل مع الجهات ذات العلاقة منذ البداية... والأخطر من ذلك، هو ما رافق العملـية من حملة تشـويه إعلامية تبدو ممنهجة ومدروسة
An AAH-linked channel is publicly contesting the procedure by which the Iraqi state detained a PMF field commander and demanding prior coordination with PMF-linked bodies, which places the boundary of judicial action against PMF personnel in open dispute.