Jassim al-Asadi: Iraq PM Sudani vows to get kidnapped environmental activist freed, brother says

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has vowed to have security forces rescue a kidnapped environmental activist and arrest his abductors, according to the captive's brother.

Jassim al-Asadi was intercepted by an armed group near Baghdad on 1 February and taken to an unknown location, sparking search and investigation efforts.

There has since been no news of the 65-year-old head of environmental group Nature Iraq since, The New Arab's Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

"Sudani assured us that there's no armed force above the law and that everyone is subject to the authority and law of the state," his brother Nadhim al-Asadi said in a statement on Saturday.

The prime minister "pledged to return my forcibly disappeared brother to his family, and to arrest the kidnappers", Nadhim said.

A senior Iraqi police officer told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on condition of anonymity that Sudani is following Jassim's case "personally" and that he directed that search operations be intensified.

"There is security and intelligence cooperation in following up on the file, and important information has been obtained about the incident," the officer said.

He added this "may lead to the party involved in the kidnapping" and to locating Jassim.

The officer said the "next few days" will see "important steps" in taking down the group responsible for the abduction and that the results will be announced soon.

Jassim has appeared regularly in local and foreign media to raise awareness of the threats facing Iraq's southern wetlands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site imperilled by years of drought.

Despite Iraq's relatively stable security situation after decades of conflict, kidnappings and assassinations of activists and officials continue to take place.

Agencies contributed to this report.