Shafaq News/ The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mohammed al-Halboosi, has instituted legal proceedings against Adnan Aziz Dafar, a journalist from Dhi Qar province, for alleged defamation and forgery.

The suit contends that Dafar circulated a falsified document attributed to al-Halboosi, which has caused harm to his reputation.

In the complaint submitted to the investigation magistrate of al-Karkh third court in Baghdad and obtained by Shafaq News Agency, al-Halbousi asserts that Dafar maliciously created and disseminated a counterfeit document, falsely ascribing it to the parliament speaker, and subsequently shared it on a public WhatsApp group.

The plaintiff further explained that the fraudulent publication not only tarnished al-Halboosi's reputation via a public platform but also attributed an unfounded message to him.

The document says Dafar's conduct constitutes criminal offenses under Articles 295 and 298 of Iraq's penal code, pertaining to document forgery and utilization of counterfeit documents, as well as transgressions of insulting the parliament speaker and defamation through public means, as specified in Article 433/1.

Consequently, al-Halboosi seeks legal action against Dafar for the aforementioned offenses and to hold him liable in accordance with the law.

In response to the lawsuit, journalist Adnan Aziz informed Shafaq News Agency that he shared a news report detailing the Saudi crown prince's alleged refusal to receive al-Halboosi during the latter's recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

Aziz said he transferred the news report from one press group to another on WhatsApp, a platform he manages.

The journalist affirmed that, upon being served with the particulars of the lawsuit, he will appear before the court.