Iraqi Court issues an arrest warrant against a journalist for "insulting" the Iraqi State

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, an Iraqi court issued an arrest warrant against the journalist, "Sarmad Al-Tai," on charges of "insulting the judicial institution."

The Baghdad/ Karkh Court sent an official letter to the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate to inform it that the legal representative of the Court's presidency requested that legal measures must be taken against the journalist Sarmad Abdul-Sattar Al-Tai for "committing a crime following Article 226 of the Iraqi Penal Code 111/1969 by insulting the judicial institution in his TV program on Al-Iraqiya channel."

The Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq had expressed "indignation" at the "insulation" by the official Iraqi channel" in a talk show with the political analyst and writer Sarmad Al-Tai.

The Council considered Al-Tai "to have a negative and extremist personal opinion that concurred with those who host them in his TV program."

Yesterday, the Iraqi Media Network prevented Al-Tai from being hosted in any programs and canceled the Al-Mouhayed (Neutral in English) program of journalist Saadoun Damad on the state-owned Al-Iraqiya channel.