Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan
Sunni parties warned of what they said might be the beginning of the realization of what Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi had predicted of a “political coup” this year.
And those parties began to feel the retreat of the Shiite coordinating framework from the promises it made during the formation of Muhammad al-Sudani’s government.
It appears that the two most prominent files within the Sunni-Shia understandings are those related to those sentenced to death according to questionable confessions, and ending the prosecution of those affiliated with the dissolved Baath Party.
A senior Sunni leader spoke to (Al-Mada) about what he considered “a preemptive measure before enacting a general amnesty law or a retrial for some prisoners whose confessions were extracted by force.”
The leader, who asked not to be named, said: “It seems that the prophecy of al-Halbousi (Parliament Speaker) will come true, and the political divorce and changes that he said will happen this year are close.”
The leader added, “There is a desire on the part of some parties in the Shiite coalition to carry out the largest number of death sentences before the general amnesty law is issued.”
Last week, the coordination framework called on the President of the Republic to ratify death sentences issued against “criminals who spilled Iraqi blood.”
And the leader stated that: “The Sunni forces, on the other hand, have begun to feel that there are attempts to evade commitments, as happened in previous times, such as the accountability committee’s refusal to end its work.”
And Al-Mada had previously revealed, in an interview with the head of the Commission, Bassem Al-Badri, that the latter refused the government’s intervention in this file because it “didn’t have the authority.”
Al-Badri confirmed at the time that the commission “still has millions of documents for its intervention in the information system,” suggesting that “the number of Iraqis covered by de-Baathification reaches one million people.”
And Al-Badri indicated that “dissolving the commission and transferring its competence and archive will only be through a new law issued by Parliament that ends the old law that was issued in 2008 and on the basis of which the commission was formed.”
These demands are among other conditions set by the Sunni forces in exchange for participation in the government, such as revealing the file of the disappeared, returning the displaced, including the residents of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, and withdrawing the factions from the cities.
At the end of last year, human rights organizations said that there were about 11,000 families who had filed complaints about the loss of their children in the last 8 years, most of them between 2017 and 2022.
On the other hand, the Speaker of Parliament said in an interview with a local TV station: “We must tell people who they are (the disappeared), and change their name first to the murdered, not the absent: the murdered have passed away.”
Al-Halbousi criticized what he considered: “misleading their families (the absentees) from 2014 until now.” He added, “To be bolder with the people who lost their families and children… the file should not be used for political slander… and to give their families hope of their return, as this is not true.”
According to political sources who spoke to (Al-Mada) at the time, the Speaker of Parliament: “He had received non-positive signals from the framework regarding this file and other files that prompted him to threaten to withdraw from the government and the state administration coalition.”
In the same meeting, the Speaker of Parliament considered the next (current) year 2023 a “crossroads,” and hinted at the possibility of a change in the political map.
Al-Halbousi said, “If the political agreement is not achieved, there is no point in remaining in the political process,” noting that this decision may also be taken by some Kurdish and Shiite forces.
In the same context, sources close to the Sadrist movement suggested that the expected political changes would take place in the first quarter of this year.
On the general amnesty law, Aref al-Hamami, a member of the legal committee in parliament, told Al-Mada that “there are discussions about the amnesty law, but it needs political consensus.”
Al-Hamami puts the approval of the general amnesty with the rest of the controversial laws, such as the budget law and the oil and gas law.
A member of the Legal Committee indicates that “those sentenced to death may be included in a general amnesty if the victim’s family waives their right, while those sentenced to death in terrorism cases cannot be included.”
Less than two years ago, the Ministry of Justice revealed, for the first time, statistics on the total number of prisoners in the country, including those sentenced to death.
In a statement issued in September 2021, the ministry said, “The number of convicted terrorists is more than 50,000 prisoners, and half of them are sentenced to death.”
The statement added, “The death sentences were not carried out because they did not reach a final degree, or some of them did not issue a presidential decree to execute them.”
The statement pointed out that “any ruling that acquires the final degree and is issued by a republican decree is implemented, but about 90 percent of the rulings were not issued by a republican decree or did not acquire the final degree. suspended”.
The Code of Procedure in Iraq grants the right to appeal judgments more than once, while the government has admitted the existence of torture in prisons.
In turn, Ali Shaddad, a representative of the coordination framework, said in an interview with (Al-Mada): “The framework’s talk about the execution came in conjunction with the anniversary of the martyrdom of the victory leaders and the Army Day.”
Shaddad added, “The minimum estimate for the sacrifices of those who fought against ISIS is the execution of terrorists,” noting that this demand “will not affect the framework’s relationship with the Sunni forces, and whoever claims that his confession was extracted by force must provide evidence.”
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Iraq