The head of Iraq's High Electoral Commission said Baghdad's decision to sentence three officials of the commission for one year on charges of accepting gifts is “political”.
Faraj Haidari said: "Sentencing me, my deputy Usam al-Ani and chief of the election department Karim Tamimi on charges of bribery to four officials in Baghdad's register office is completely political.

"I had nothing to do with giving presents to these four register office civil servants but it was the commission's decision and the court has not informed us yet what we have committed in order to penalize us.

"The court's case does not have any illegal elements upon which to base a decision. I didn’t receive land and didn’t sign any gifts. I was only the head of the commission."

The commission sent a letter to give 150,000 IQD to four civil servants in the register office in 2010. State of Law Coalition MP Hanan Fatlawi later asked Iraq’s Parliament to call Haidari.

Yesterday a Baghdad court sentenced Haidari, his deputy and the head of the election department to one year and suspended the commission's decision of giving the register office's servants a reward.



AKnews