Iraq’s Basra Health denies Ban Ziyad–murder case link

Shafaq News – Basra

Basra’s Health Department has dismissed claims tying the death of Iraqi psychiatrist Ban Ziyad to the case of Dargham Abdul-Salem Naama, accused of murdering academic Sarah al-Aboudah.

In a statement on Thursday, the department described the social media allegations that Ziyad was part of a committee tasked with assessing Naama’s mental fitness as “entirely baseless,” urging media outlets and the public to obtain information from official sources.

Ziyad, a psychiatrist in Basra, was found dead last week in Baghdad’s al-Mansour district under disputed circumstances, prompting the Ministry of Interior to launch a high-level investigation and sparking demands from dozens of citizens and activists for full transparency. Basra Governor Asaad al-Eidani told Shafaq News that an inquiry by the Basra Police Criminal Directorate pointed to possible suicide, noting that confirmation awaits forensic results and analysis of recordings found on her device.