SOURCE: Five countries to help Iraq extradite corruption suspects
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq's Coordination Framework (CF), the ruling coalition of mostly Shiite parties that dominates parliament and government, agreed to pursue corruption suspects through judicial orders rather than security or military force, and to seek the extradition of fugitives with the cooperation of five countries.
A source within the CF who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions said the participants in Monday’s meeting endorsed the use of formal judicial summonses to detain suspects accused of financial corruption and the misuse of public money, moving away from operations involving “security forces and tanks,” calling for transparency around ongoing investigations into detainees held under the campaign.
The measures fall under the Dawn Crackdown, anti-corruption campaign, which al-Zaidi leads and supervises directly. Coalition leaders pledged to keep backing the government's actions, the source said, though some voiced displeasure over information circulating about the nature of the investigations and the sums to be recovered.
Read more:Ali al-Zaidi named Iraq's prime minister: Easy nomination, harder road ahead
Five countries have agreed to cooperate with Iraq in pursuing and extraditing suspects through Interpol red notices, which are international requests to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition. Three were identified by the source as the United States, France, and Britain, a fourth only as an Arab state, while the fifth remains unknown.
For extradition to proceed, the coalition stressed that arrest warrants must be issued by the Justice Ministry rather than the Iraqi Judicial Council, the country's top judicial body, because most international agreements on handing over corruption suspects require warrants from the ministry.
Al-Zaidi is scheduled to travel to Washington in mid-July, his first official foreign visit since assuming the premiership. The Framework expects the trip to secure the release of part of Iraq's bank transfers held by international banks and the US Federal Reserve, help trace and recover funds moved out of the country, and locate suspects abroad, the source said, stressing that fugitives should be returned and prosecuted under Iraqi law, "even if they hold a second nationality or enjoy external support."
The coalition also weighed the nine unfilled ministries but is likely to defer those appointments until after the Washington visit, the source said. The State of Law bloc, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is insisting on its candidate Qasim Atta for the Interior Ministry, while preparing to submit six names for al-Zaidi to choose from.
Participants further discussed closing the file on dissolving armed factions and transferring their light and heavy weapons to state control. Baghdad has tied full disarmament to a timeline running to the end of September, linked to the conclusion of the US-led coalition's mission in Iraq.
The Washington visit and the outstanding cabinet appointments remain the coalition's next tests, with ministerial decisions held until al-Zaidi returns, the source concluded.
Read more:Iraq PM al-Zaidi to Washington with energy deals front, “militia file” unresolved
