Najaf council sues paper over claims of arrest, torture

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: The provincial council in Najaf has sued Dar al-Hayat newspaper and its correspondent in the city for publishing “lies” about the alleged arrest and torture of Baathists by security personnel, the media director in the province said on Sunday. “In its report, the newspaper said that security forces arrest and torture Baathists, including old people and children, giving them a time limit to leave the province and to sell their property…,” Ahmed Nouri al-Dujeili told IraqiNews.com news agency. Dujeili has dismissed news about an alleged sectarian campaign to displace Sunnis from the province. The holy Shiite city of Najaf lies 160 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1