17,000 prisoners freed under amnesty law – MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The total number of detainees who have been released under the general pardon law is only 17,000, MP from the Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) Abdul Karim al-Sameraei said. “Those were released from ministries of interior, justice, work and social affairs, but the recent announcement about releasing 125,000 prisoners were not accurate,” al-Sameraei, who is a member of the Islamic party, said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com. Chief justice Abdelsattar al-Berqadar had said yesterday that the total number of prisoners released under the amnesty law is more than 125,000 since it was first applied in late February 2008. The Iraqi Parliament had endorsed on February 13 a law granting amnesty to Iraqis and others residing in Iraq after it was amended by Parliament to include as large a number of detainees as possible, according to Iraqi government officials. The law, however, did not include people convicted of genocide or mass killing, nor administrative and financial corruption and terrorism cases SH (P)/SR 1