In Iraq, a country with a large Muslim population, drinking in public is discouraged, but it is legal in bars with permits.
In all of Baghdad’s stores and bars, alcohol may be purchased.
Iraqi MPs who identify as Christians are working to remove a law that forbids the import and sale of alcohol.
On Saturday, instructions were provided to customs agents to impose the prohibition.
In spite of objections, it became legislation last month.
A complaint was launched by the group, which has five MPs in the Iraqi parliament, alleging that it was undemocratic.
Public alcohol consumption is frowned upon in Iraq, a predominantly Muslim country, but it can be bought at liquor stores or licensed bars.
The law, originally passed by parliament in 2016, imposes a fine of up to 25m Iraqi dinars (£14,256).
It prohibits the sale, import or production of alcohol – and only became official last month, seven years since it was passed, after appearing in the official gazette.
It is still unknown how rigidly the law might be applied and whether the Federal Supreme Court of the nation will overturn it.
Members of the Babylon Movement argued that the law was illegal because it ignores minorities’ rights and limits freedom in their court appeal.
Additionally, they claim, it goes against a government regulation that set duty on all imported alcoholic beverages at 200% for the following four years and was adopted less than a week before the gazette was released on February 20.
The AFP news agency was told by Baghdad-based estate agent Sarmad Abbas that the prohibition would only drive alcohol sales onto the underground market.
He confessed that drinking alcohol is against Islamic beliefs.
But you can’t stop people from exercising their personal freedoms, he added.
The bill was reportedly first submitted by Mahmoud al-Hassan, who was at the time a judge and lawmaker for Iraq’s State of Law Coalition.
According to the AP news agency, he claimed that it was consistent with Article 2 of Iraq’s 2005 constitution, which forbids any legislation that is in opposition to Islam.
