Nineveh police have arrested a doctor working at Mosul’s Republican Hospital after he published social-media posts and comments targeting the Ezidi people and other minorities. The material caused widespread anger online and prompted calls for legal action over speech considered insulting and capable of increasing religious hostility in the province.
The arrest was carried out on 22 July 2026 by officers from the Umm al-Rabi’in police force under the Nineveh Police Command. The Iraqi judiciary ordered that the doctor remain in detention under Article 202 of the Iraqi Penal Code while investigators examine the publications and complete the legal proceedings.
Anti-Ezidi posts caused widespread anger
The controversy developed after the doctor posted a series of comments concerning the Ezidi people, including statements connected to public discussions about a film dealing with Ezidi issues. The exact wording of every post and the title of the film have not been made public in the information currently available, but the comments circulated widely and were condemned as offensive and inflammatory.
Ezidi users, local media pages and other members of the public called for legal action, arguing that the posts crossed the line from personal opinion and freedom of expression into anti-Ezidi hate speech that encouraged religious hostility. The response gained further attention as screenshots of the comments circulated across social-media platforms.
A doctor working in a public hospital has a duty to treat every patient with dignity, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Publishing hostile comments about Ezidis raises serious concerns about whether Ezidi patients could expect equal and respectful treatment from someone in that position.
Iraqi Medical Association responds
The Iraqi Medical Association issued a statement rejecting conduct and public comments that harm Iraq’s religious and social diversity or violate the ethical standards of the medical profession. Its intervention placed the issue beyond an ordinary social-media dispute and raised questions about the responsibilities of medical professionals toward all patients, regardless of their identity or faith.
Local networks, including the Sinjar News Network, also criticised the statements and called on the judiciary and security authorities to act against hate speech. The broader concern was not limited to one doctor’s comments, but to the normalisation of language that presents Ezidis and other minorities as acceptable targets of insult or religious hostility.
Nineveh is home to indigenous and ethnic peoples including Ezidis, Assyrians, Armenians, Arabs and Turkmen, as well as religious groups such as Christians, Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims. Language that promotes hostility against any of these populations can deepen existing tensions in a province already marked by persecution, displacement and violence.
Detained under Article 202
The Iraqi judiciary ordered the doctor’s detention under Article 202 of the Penal Code while the case is investigated. The provision concerns publications and statements that may provoke sectarian or communal conflict, disturb public security or promote hostility between different parts of society.
His arrest does not yet constitute a final criminal conviction, but the publications themselves and the public reaction to them are not in dispute. The remaining legal question is whether the content meets the requirements for criminal responsibility under Iraqi law and what penalty, if any, the court may impose.
Authorities have not yet announced when the investigation will be completed or whether the case will proceed to trial. Further details may also clarify the full content of the posts, the context in which they were published and the specific statements connected to the film.
Anti-Ezidi rhetoric cannot be dismissed as harmless
Speech directed against the Ezidi people must be understood within the history of persecution that preceded and accompanied the 2014 genocide. ISIS did not begin its crimes with mass killings and abductions; the violence was supported by years of dehumanising religious propaganda, false accusations and the portrayal of Ezidis as people unworthy of protection.
Not every offensive post leads directly to violence, but repeated anti-Ezidi language creates an environment in which discrimination becomes easier to tolerate. It weakens the dignity and security of Ezidi patients, students, employees and families who must interact with public institutions and depend on those institutions to treat them equally.
The legal process must now establish the doctor’s criminal responsibility in accordance with Iraqi law. At the same time, the response from the police, judiciary and Medical Association sends an important message: attacking the Ezidi people through religious hatred is not an acceptable form of public debate, particularly when it comes from a professional entrusted with the health and safety of the public.
