PM’s special force arrested my chief guard, secretary – MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A force receiving orders exclusively from Prime Minister (PM) Nouri al-Maliki allegedly arrested the chief guard and private secretary of a lawmaker that belongs to the National Dialogue Front (NDF) on Wednesday. “The force raided my house in al-Qadisiya neighborhood on Feb. 8, and arrested my chief guard,” Mohammed al-Daini said in a press conference in Baghdad that was attended by IraqiNews.com news agency. “The same force arrested my private secretary on Feb. 17,” he said. “The force comes from the Baghdad Brigade that has no legal or constitutional trait, as it receives no orders from security ministries, but directly from the premier,” he added. He pointed out that he told the force commander that he is a legislator and has immunity, but the commander conducted the arrest operation under the accusation of practicing terror. “The operation is a form of pressure, threatening and arms-bending, because we have been revealing corruption within the current government’s institutes,” al-Daini noted. Baghdad Operations Command has not yet commented on this issue. The NDF occupies 11 out of 275 seats in the Iraqi council of representatives, and it is headed by Saleh al-Motlak. MH (S)/SR 1