Transgender individual Jojo Dhamara arrived in Baghdad from the United States on May 4, 2022, after a friend informed her that he wanted to see her following a phone relationship that lasted for months. When Jojo agreed to meet her friend at the Mansour Melia Hotel in Baghdad, she sat for a quarter of an hour before being surprised by the arrival of security forces who surrounded her and ordered her to surrender her phones and comply with their orders. However, Jojo shouted, "I am American, and no one can arrest me this easily!" and continued to scream, demanding the American ambassador. The arresting force then took her to a nearby police station after she surrendered.
Sources close to the arresting unit revealed that significant efforts were made to lure Jojo to Iraq to execute the arrest warrant and ensure her entry through Erbil Airport without issuing a warrant for her arrest at the airport police. They preferred to apprehend her in Baghdad following a series of crimes committed by Jojo against artists, media figures, and public personalities, which included online extortion and being used by others to tarnish the reputation of others. Investigations are ongoing, with video clips and images having emerged through which Jojo extorted many, and she will face charges related to extortion, defamation, and libel based on complaints filed by hundreds who praised the security forces.
A security statement noted that through diligent monitoring and intensified efforts by elements of the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency, information was received about a transgender individual holding American citizenship known as Jojo Dhamara, who had insulted religious symbols and high-ranking government figures and was responsible for the largest extortion network in Iraq. The arrested person had extorted owners of high-end restaurants, including Huka Restaurant, Rouh Restaurant, Smile Cafe, Lolita Cafe, Pasha Cafe, and several restaurants in other provinces, along with Tawfiq Mall for women's clothing, demanding substantial sums of money in exchange for not publishing allegations of prostitution and drug abuse within these venues. There were also claims of extorting a number of officers and personnel from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior.
The statement added that a task force was formed that arrested her inside the Mansour Melia Hotel, specifically in the Chinese restaurant and hall. One of the complainants was present, and central control was contacted, dispatching a rescue patrol to the hotel, leading to the transfer of the accused to Al-Salihiya Police Station.
Today, Sunday, it was announced from a prison in Baghdad about the death of Jojo Dhamara, with the reasons for her death not disclosed.
