Two killed in Iraq clashes

NASIRIYAH, Iraq: Two protesters in Iraq´s southern city of Nasiriyah were shot dead on Wednesday in clashes with security forces at a rally against an activist´s prison sentence, a health official told AFP.

“Two protesters were shot dead” in the clashes and 21 others were wounded, including five by gunfire, said Hussein Riyad, a spokesman for the Dhi Qar provincial health ministry.

Activist Haidar al-Zaidi, 20, was sentenced to three years in prison over a disputed tweet deemed insulting to a pro-Iran paramilitary force, according to court documents seen by AFP on Wednesday.

New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch called on the Iraqi authorities not to use the courts as a “tool to suppress peaceful criticism” and called for the activist´s immediate release.