It took less than 46 seconds for the helmeted assassin to park his motorcycle, walk to the driver's side of the SUV, pull open the door and fire his handgun four times, killing one of Iraq's most prominent TikTok personalities. They killed someone who had been active for 30 years. The old woman's social media name was Umm Fahad.
Security camera footage of Friday night's murder outside a Baghdad home is shockingly revealing, but sheds little light on the identity of the killer or why Umm Fahd was targeted. Iraq's interior ministry, which released the video, said it had set up a committee to investigate her death.
The victim's real name is Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi, and she is especially popular on social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram, where her videos often feature her wearing tight or revealing clothing and singing. She was seen hugging her young son. They won her some 460,000 supporters, but also angered Iraqi society and conservatives in the government.
At one point, authorities reprimanded Sawasdi for posting a video of her dancing at her 6-year-old son's birthday party and sentenced her to 90 days in jail.
At the sparsely attended funeral, her brother Amir Mehdi Sawadi said he had little faith that her killer would ever be caught.
“I can name many innocent people who were killed,” Sawasdi said. “Have you heard anything about their case? Did they find the killer? No.”
Given her sister's prominence, one might expect the government to take some action, but no official has come to visit her since her death.
“No one sat down with me and questioned me,” Sawasdi said. “I just told the authorities that she was my sister and gave them my name and that was it.”
Sawasdi's killing was the third killing of a young social media figure in Iraq in the past year.
Human rights groups say the killings appear to be the result of Iraq's crackdown on criticism of the government and public expressions of behavior considered secular and Western.
Strengthening social media regulations A youth rebellion that began in 2019 to challenge corruption in the Iraqi government and Iranian influence. Currently, the Iraqi government is controlled by political parties with ties to Iran, many of which have strong religious orientations.
The latest addition to the list of prohibited acts was included in a bill approved by parliament over the weekend. The country's anti-prostitution laws currently target gay, bisexual and transgender Iraqis, making same-sex relationships a crime punishable by 10 to 15 years in prison. Assisting in gender reassignment treatment is also a crime.
Mohsen al-Mandalawi, acting speaker of parliament, said the law was “a necessary measure to protect society's values, rather than protect children from the immorality and homosexuality that is currently invading countries.” “This is a necessary measure for the greater good.”
The new law is was severely criticized British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: “Restricting the rights of certain individuals in society undermines the rights of everyone.”
Miller also said the newly amended law could be used to “thwart freedom of speech and expression and impede the work of NGOs across Iraq.”
Sawasdi was jailed for violating the Iraqi Penal Code's expanded definition of speech deemed to be harmful to public order.
In 2023, the Ministry of the Interior issued new regulations restricting social media content deemed “obscene” or “immoral.” Sawasdi was one of the few social media influencers to be tried and found guilty of violating regulations. She told The New York Times at the time that she couldn't understand what she was being punished for.
“The judge asked me why I was dancing and showing part of my breasts,” she said.
In September, an assassin using a silenced gun shot and killed another TikTok personality, 23-year-old Noor al-Saffa, in a murder that was also caught on surveillance video. This is a man who posted videos of himself wearing women's clothes and applying makeup. The culprit has not been caught.
Then, about two months ago, a transgender social media personality known as Simsim was stabbed to death in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniyah. A suspect has been arrested in this case and remains in custody.
Women's rights activists and researchers say they are distressed by the impunity and apparent indifference to women's safety on the part of police and government leaders.
“There are surveillance cameras on the streets of Baghdad, and it is not difficult to find criminals,” said Fatin al-Hilfi, a former member of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission. “In neighboring countries, police can find criminals within hours.”
Al-Hilfi said Sawasdi's critics were too ready to move on and were reluctant to understand the larger implications if her death went unresolved. He said he was concerned about this.
“How can such an attack be so easy here?” she asked.
Fali Hassan and Jaafar Thamer contributed reporting.