Iraqi parliament speaker Salim al-Jubouri called for “special amnesty” for Sultan Hashim, who served as defense minister under former President Saddam Hussein, saying he will soon be discussing the matter with Iraq’s president, prime minister and the Federal Supreme Court.
He added that the Hashim family filed a petition for granting the former defense minister’s amnesty, “in view of his current situation and health conditions.”
Hashim had served as defense minister when Hussein’s government was overthrown in 2003 on the back of the U.S-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.
He turned himself in shortly afterward but was sentenced to death in 2007.
Legal adviser Amir Kanani said that special amnesty needs certain conditions satisfied, most notably a recommendation by the Prime Minister on the matter.
“In order to grant special amnesty, charges must not be pressed on international crimes, terrorism, or financial and administrative corruption. He also said that Hashim’s verdict was decisive,” Kannani told Ashsarq Al-Awsat.
On the other hand, Special Criminal Court Judge Munir Haddad, who tried Saddam Hussein and senior officials in the Baathist regime, including Hashim, stressed the difficulty of issuing amnesty before upcoming elections.
“The Supreme Criminal Court Law No. 10 of 2005 stipulates in article 27 that no sentence may be commuted, amended or repealed,” Haddad told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“No one has the right to intervene,” he added.
Jabouri’s rival Sunni leaders in Western provinces were surprised by his position.
Mohammad al-Karbouli said that “Hashim was not imprisoned just yesterday for the parliament speaker to remember his situation now and file for amnesty...This is a kind of recklessness that cannot fool anyone.”
Karbouli added that it is impossible to achieve special amnesty under current circumstances for objective reasons.
Former Nineveh Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi labeled Jubouri’s plea an unfortunately cheap electoral propaganda play.
