MP Sanad to court over Iraqi parliament brawl

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Lawmaker Mustafa Sanad has been referred to a misdemeanor court over an altercation with fellow member of parliament Bahaa al-Araji inside Iraq's parliament, an informed source told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Al-Araji heads the Reconstruction and Development bloc of Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani.

Sanad had received an explicit promise during that session that the case against him would be dropped, the source said. He was surprised on Tuesday to learn it had instead been sent to the misdemeanor court.

On April 23, the Iraqi judiciary ordered Sanad released on bail after he appeared before the court over the fight with al-Araji.

The dispute began in March, when a verbal argument between the two lawmakers developed into a physical fight on the floor of the Council of Representatives. The chamber's presidency subsequently barred Sanad from entering the parliament building, citing his conduct toward al-Araji.