Shiite Cleric, al-Sadr, calls for trial of Iraq’s Vice-President Hashimy under Parliament’s auspices

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Leader of the Shiite Trend, Muqtada al-Sadr, has called Sunday for the trial of Iraq‘s Vice-President, Tareq al-Hashimy, under the auspices of the Parliament, warning at the same time from the single-party power on the political process in the country.Answering a question by one of his followers in Baghdad, about the fate of Tareq al-Hashimy, Sadr said: “The issue of Hashimy’s trial should take place under the auspices of the Parliament and the people,” adding that “even the sacking of politicians from their posts must take place in a legal manner.””The issue of confessions against Vice-President, Tareq al-Hashimy and the raising of this issue at the current period may harm the country, its unity and security, including the downfall of the current political process and the security situation, along with harming the political process as well,” Sadr said.Sadr also stressed that the said case “had boosted the isolation of Iraq nowadays, including the transformation of the government into a single-party government and the imposition of its power on the necks of everybody.”Vice-President Hashimy had demanded in a news conference in Arbil, the capital of northern Iraq‘s Kurdistan Region, to transfer the case of his investigation to the Kurdistan Region, where he moved to after the issuance of an arrest warrant against him by the Iraqi Interior Ministry, accordingto Article-4 (Terrorism), whilst the Ministry had screened confessions by 3 of his bodyguards, who claimed that he had ordered them to implement assassinations and explosions in 2009.The said developments took place at a time when the US troops withdrawal from Iraq was completed, according to the Security Agreement, signedbetween the two countries at the end of 2008. 1508