21/12/2011Maliki is not responsible for the arrest warrant against Hashemi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is not responsible for the judiciary issuing an arrest warrant for Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi according to the Sadrist movement which belongs to al-Maliki's National Coalition.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry announced the warrant had been issued last night. They said al-Hashemi is wanted on terrorism offenses and they presented the confessions of three members of al-Hashemi's protection detail who said the Vice President ordered them to carry out assassinations since 2009.
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The Interior Ministry pledged to release the full confessions after the investigation is complete.
Iraqiya List, led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, said today it will appeal the decision of the Iraqi judiciary to order the arrest of the Vice President, a leading figure in Iraqiya List. They claimed the confessions were made under torture.
The Iraqi judicial decisions against al-Hashemi are widely believed to be a direct attack on opposition groups, increasing the crisis in the country.
Sadrist movement member Jawad al-Jabbouri told AKnews that Iraqiya List must support such decisions issued by the judiciary as they are based on facts: "We believe the judiciary is independent and has its own procedures and everyone must respect its decisions."
The Iraqi judiciary has issued a decree banning al-Hashemi and a number of his bodyguards from traveling while sources in the National Coalition revealed pledges from President Jalal Talabani to return Hashimi to Baghdad after the end of their regular meeting in Sulaimaniya, Kurdistan Region.
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