Iraqi defense minister subpoenaed over accusing lawmakers of graft
Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi received a subpoena Sunday to appear in court on the ground of accusing a number of parliamentarians, including House Speaker Salim al-Juburi, of corruption.
The subpoena was issued after Obeidi was summoned to the parliament on August 1 to respond to allegations of blackmail in the Defense Ministry brought up against him by lawmaker Alia Nasayif.
During the closed parliament session, however, the defense minister accused Juburi and at least five other lawmakers, including Nasayif herself, of corruption.
The lawmakers accused the Defense Ministry of wasting billions of dollars in public funds and weakening the country’s armed forces in their fight against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
Obeidi said he was being challenged in retribution for his rejection of corruption, accusing the parliamentarians of seeking to blackmail him in order to pass corrupt deals, including a USD1-billion catering contract, a USD2.8-billion accord for armored vehicles, and a USD421-million pact for American Hummer military vehicles.
Juburi and other accused lawmakers strongly rejected the allegations but the charges Obeidi leveled against them during the questioning was sufficient to prompt Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to order a temporary travel ban on suspected corrupt officials. Iraq’s chief prosecutor also lodged an official complaint against Juburi and other named lawmakers on graft charges.
Juburi rejected the travel prohibition. He said the measure could only be ordered by the judiciary.
Obeidi has to present evidence to prove the charges he brought up against the lawmakers.
Earlier this year, Iraqi citizens held sit-ins inside Baghdad’s highly fortified Green Zone aimed at keeping up pressure on the government to change ministers in an attempt to combat systemic political patronage, which has paved the way for graft. The protests were called by the prominent cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The Iraqi prime minister has faced calls to reform the country’s political structure in a bid to tackle corruption. The scandal also surfaced at a critical time when the Iraqi armed forces prepare to launch a full-scale offensive to recapture the second-largest city of Mosul from Daesh.
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