According to Talal Nathan al-Zuhary, director of the Mustansiriya University library, al-Mayah believed that "one day he would be bumped off by the Mossad or the CIA" and that "More recently [following the invasion], he was more worried about the looters who came after the regime fell and stole so much."
On the evening of January 18, 2004, on the television channel al-Jazeera, he had criticised what he called the corruption of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), appointed by the US authorities, and demanded universal elections as soon as possible, as had earlier done during the presidency of Saddam Hussein.
Since US authorities were planning a caucus system for choosing a new government rather than representative democracy by all Iraqi adult citizens, al-Mayah's public declaration directly opposed United States policy in Iraq.
On the morning of January 19, 2004, al-Mayah left his house at 8am and starting driving his car, with another professor, Sarhan Abbas, in the passenger seat.
Due to the road shape and traffic, he slowed down the car, and passed an outdoor shish kebab restaurant, El Banouk (The Bank), which was just about to open for the day.
A senior commander at the headquarters of the Iraqi police, who insisted on remaining anonymous in fear for his safety, told the New Statesman reporter, "You can look no further than the Governing Council (IGC).
Al-Mayah's brother stated, "He never told me the name of this man, only that he was a dual national, someone who had come back from exile after the Americans invaded.
"[2] Al-Mayah was posthumously awarded the Train Foundation's Civil Courage Prize, which recognizes "extraordinary heroes of conscience".