On February 3, 2017, Mohammed Al Tikriti and his family were visiting a friend at his home in Baghdad when three men, wearing civilian clothing, knocked on the door and identified themselves as being from the Iraqi Intelligence Service. The men asked for Al Tikriti, by name, and forced him to leave with them. The following day, Al Tikriti’s family submitted a formal complaint, in relation to his disappearance, at the Anti-Crime Section in Amil district, Baghdad, but to no avail.
One week after his arrest, Al Tikriti’s family received a call from people who identified themselves as the forces which carried out the arrest. The callers asked for 4,000 USD in return for Al Tikriti’s release. However, as it was impossible to verify whether or not the call was genuine, the family did not pay the ransom.
On April 28, 2020, MENA Rights Group and the Iraqi War Crimes Documentation Center requested the urgent intervention of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, urging the Iraqi authorities take urgent action to locate him, place him under the protection of the law, and identify the perpetrators.
Al Tikriti’s fate and whereabouts remain unknown.