Safaa Al-Sarai was a human rights social media activist with a big following on Instagram and Facebook. He had been active in Iraq’s anti-corruption movement since 2011, and was one of the Tishreen Movement’s earliest participants. Al-Sarai was known as the “icon of the Iraqi uprising,” and became so influential that BBC News included him among the “the top 5 prominent figures from the worldwide protests.” 

Al-Sarai used to document and upload evidence, mainly in the form of video, of police brutality in Iraq. This was especially important, considering that mainstream media was not covering events surrounding the Tishreen Movement.  He was arrested once in 2018 for his participation in the demonstrations. Later on, Safaa started receiving threats in order to discourage him from participating in demonstrations and civil protests. 

On October 28, 2019 Al-Sarai was injured by gunmen linked to PMF Militias Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq & Saraya al-Khorasani with a tear gas canister as he participated in peaceful demonstrations in Iraq, but did not survive the injuries. Two hours after the incident he died in a hospital.  

Ali Khrpyt, a friend of Al-Sarai, said, “The media here were having problems covering it, so we volunteered to use our phones and deliver footage free of charge to the TV channels. We visited hospitals, we documented everything. I still can’t believe he’s gone.”