German curator Hella Mewis freed after kidnapping in Baghdad amid political violence

On Friday, 24 July, at 6:25 am, Iraqi security forces freed German curator and rights advocate Hella Mewis from an undisclosed site near Baghdad. Mewis was taken on Monday, 20 July, outside her Baghdad office by armed militants in two vehicles, one of which was a white pickup truck linked to certain security forces. She leads an arts initiative at Tarkib, an Iraqi collective that supports emerging artists. Her abduction appears to be part of a rise in political violence against anti-government activists amid ongoing protests against government corruption and Iranian influence, which have led to numerous deaths and kidnappings. Recently, Iraqi scholar Hisham al-Hashemi was murdered outside his home, allegedly due to his backing of the protests. Upon learning of Mewis’s kidnapping, her friend Dhikra Sarsam initiated a social media effort for her release, recalling that Mewis had anticipated such an event. In response, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas formed a task force to investigate her disappearance. Reports were provided by Deutsche Welle and Associated Press.