US revokes visa of Iraqi award recipient

Washington, Aug 28 (IANS) The United States has revoked the visa of an Iraqi national honoured by the previous Biden administration after she was placed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terror Watchlist, the State Department said on Friday.

Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi is no longer in the United States, according to a statement issued by Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson.

“The U.S. Department of State has revoked the visa of an Iraqi national who was presented an award by the Biden Administration for her purported role in fighting corruption and her advocacy for ‘gender equity,’” the statement said.

Al Shakarchi received the International Women of Courage Award in 2022. It was presented by then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken and then-First Lady Jill Biden.

The annual award recognised “women from around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, and the empowerment of women and girls, in all their diversity.”

The State Department tied its decision to the Iraqi national’s inclusion on the FBI list but offered no further details about the underlying information or the process that led to her placement.

“This Iraqi national’s visa has now been revoked by the State Department following her placement on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terror Watchlist,” Johnson said in the statement. “She is no longer present in the United States.”

The statement also framed the decision as part of the Trump administration’s security and immigration policies.

“Under President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suspected terrorists will never be allowed to remain in the United States,” it said.

The department did not say whether Al Shakarchi had been asked to leave the country, had departed voluntarily or was outside the United States when the visa was revoked.

The action marks a sharp reversal in the US government’s treatment of Al Shakarchi. Four years ago, she was recognised at a prominent State Department ceremony for what the Biden administration described as work against corruption and advocacy for women. lkj