Corruption charges against Iraqi parliament speaker dropped
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council has dropped a financial corruption case against Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri.
The council "has decided to drop the charges due to a lack of evidence," said spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrakdar during a televised statement on Tuesday.
Last month, Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi accused Jabouri and several MPs of corruption.
A member of the Iraqi Lawyers’ Syndicate, Tariq Harb, noted that "the judicial authorities could reopen the case," if new corruption evidence surfaces.
Earlier, the Iraqi parliament voted to strip Jabouri’s parliamentary immunity to allow an investigation into corruption charges.
Following the move, Jabouri was able to testify before the supreme council.
On August 1, Obeidi went to the legislature to answer allegations of wasting billions of dollars in public funds and weakening the country’s armed forces in their fight against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
During the questioning, however, he made the accusations against Jabouri and the other lawmakers.
Obeidi insisted that he was being challenged in retribution for his rejection of corruption, accusing the parliamentarians of seeking to blackmail him in order to pass several corrupt deals.
The recent events come as Iraqi Prime Minster Haider al-Abadi has faced calls to reform the country’s political structure in a bid to tackle corruption there.
Earlier this year, the parliament was deadlocked for weeks over the premier’s efforts to replace the cabinet.
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