Humanitarian

Iraq disrupts illegal ‘testis’ trade with Ukraine

Organ trafficking in Iraq is mostly concentrated in the illegal trade of kidneys, which cost nearly 48 million Iraqi dinars (approximately $32,000), Al-Zubaidi said.

Kurdistan 24 2022/08/05 15:56

Cars drive along a street in central Baghdad's Tahrir Square, July 28, 2022. (Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)

Iraq Iraq Trafficking in organs

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s anti-human trafficking authority announced on Thursday that it had disrupted the illicit trade of human testis with Ukraine.

Brigadier Wissam Nassif Al-Zubaidi, the head of the department, revealed the case during a show broadcast on state media TV Al Iraqiyah on Thursday.

Organ trafficking in Iraq is mostly concentrated in the illegal trade of kidneys, which cost nearly 48 million Iraqi dinars (approximately $32,000), Al-Zubaidi said.

The illicit activity was widely carried out on social media platforms. However, security forces have been able to shut down these pages, he added.

Transplantation clinics across the country have also been hotspots for the illicit business, according to observers.

Al-Zubaidi said security forces strictly monitor those medical facilities to prevent such deals.

According to the officer, the cost of testis outside the country is estimated to be around $80,000, adding they had thwarted a deal between Iraq and Ukraine.

Under Iraqi law, relatives can donate organs to each other. However, any transplantation of organs given by non-relatives is strictly prohibited and punishable by imprisonment or even death.

Human trafficking has been on the rise in post-2003 Iraq, as has prostitution and organ selling.

The US State Department 2022 report on human trafficking stated that the Iraqi government “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”