Terror trial of fugitive Iraqi VP postponed
Source: Agencies |
May 4, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE terror trial of Iraq's fugitive Sunni vice president was postponed yesterday as his lawyers appealed to have parliament create a special court to hear the case that has touched off a political crisis.
Tariq al-Hashemi, one of the nation's highest-ranking Sunni politicians, was not in court to face charges that he ran death squads that targeted government officials, security forces and Shiite pilgrims.
Instead, his lawyers filed motions to have Iraq's Supreme Court direct parliament to set up a special tribunal for high-ranking officials. No opening arguments or evidence were presented yesterday, and reporters sat in the empty courtroom in Baghdad for several hours before being told the case was postponed until May 10.
The Shiite-led government accuses al-Hashemi of links to about 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks. It says the death squads were largely composed of the vice president's bodyguards and other employees. The vice president is in Turkey, and has denied the charges that he calls politically motivated.
The trial was to focus on three charges: the killings of officials at the National Security and Interior ministries and the killing of a lawyer. The maximum sentence in Iraqi terror cases is the death penalty.
Al-Hashemi has refused to return to trial in Baghdad, where he claims he will not get a fair hearing. Many Iraqis assume that courts often follow the Shiite-led government's directives.
Tariq al-Hashemi, one of the nation's highest-ranking Sunni politicians, was not in court to face charges that he ran death squads that targeted government officials, security forces and Shiite pilgrims.
Instead, his lawyers filed motions to have Iraq's Supreme Court direct parliament to set up a special tribunal for high-ranking officials. No opening arguments or evidence were presented yesterday, and reporters sat in the empty courtroom in Baghdad for several hours before being told the case was postponed until May 10.
The Shiite-led government accuses al-Hashemi of links to about 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks. It says the death squads were largely composed of the vice president's bodyguards and other employees. The vice president is in Turkey, and has denied the charges that he calls politically motivated.
The trial was to focus on three charges: the killings of officials at the National Security and Interior ministries and the killing of a lawyer. The maximum sentence in Iraqi terror cases is the death penalty.
Al-Hashemi has refused to return to trial in Baghdad, where he claims he will not get a fair hearing. Many Iraqis assume that courts often follow the Shiite-led government's directives.
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