Most of the time these markets are able to ply their trade without any interference from authorities. However, much to locals’ surprise, last week there was a raid on Maridi market that saw automatic guns, ordinary pistols and ever rocket propelled grenade launchers confiscated, as well as machinery for the modification of weapons.
“There is not one house that doesn’t have one or more weapons inside,” says a Baghdad police captain, Samir Hadi. “We know that during celebrations they fire their guns but it is almost impossible to tell where the shots are coming from. And when we do manage to arrest somebody, they usually find a way to get off, either through influential people in their family or by bribes.”
The current law on the matter, dating back to 2000, says that anyone who fires their gun could be imprisoned for between one and six months, and may have to pay a fine.
“But actually putting the law into practice is very difficult,” Hadi says. “And it needs to be applied equally to everyone, without discriminating between citizens.”
Sometimes those doing the celebratory shooting are members of militias, police or army; sometimes they are government officials, Hadi told NIQASH, which makes it almost impossible to arrest people for this crime.
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