Cassation court upholds defamation decision against lawmaker

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation has upheld a libel and slander verdict against MP Sami al-Askari for accusing the Foreign Ministry of corruption and failure. “The Federal Court of Cassation has upheld a verdict delivered by the Federal Court of Appeal in Baghdad’s al-Karkh on December 24, 2008,” according to a Foreign Ministry statement received by Iraqi News. The verdict orders Askari to financially compensate the foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, for the moral and material damage he has sustained as a result of statements made by Askari about the minister and the ministry. In statements to Radio Sawa on Feb. 19, 2008, MP al-Askari from the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), who is also a member of the parliamentary foreign relations committee, accused the Foreign Ministry of “failure and corruption.” SS (P) 1