Kadhimi: Mosul’s Fall Was The Result of Wrong Policies We Are Trying to Correct

 Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi listens during a meeting with then- US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi listens during a meeting with then- US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
TT
20

Kadhimi: Mosul’s Fall Was The Result of Wrong Policies We Are Trying to Correct

 Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi listens during a meeting with then- US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi listens during a meeting with then- US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi blamed the fall of Mosul to ISIS in June 2014 on the wrong policies that were followed at the time.

While he praised the fatwa of “defensive jihad” issued by the supreme Shiite authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Kadhimi warned against exploiting it for non-national projects.

In a statement on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the issuance of the fatwa, the Iraqi premier said: “Iraq has gone through very difficult circumstances (in reference to ISIS’ occupation of about three Iraqi provinces in the western region of the country), which put it in front of a serious existential challenge.”

He continued: “All this came as a result of neglecting the security institutions and the heroic Iraqi army, and the accumulation of wrong policies that caused these disasters.”

“Divine Providence, the fatwa and directives issued by the supreme authority, Sayyed Ali al-Sistani, stopped a terrorist monster that had frightened the whole world, and led to the elimination of this organization during a period that the world could never have imagined,” he underlined.

Kadhimi went on to say that he was working “to correct the path by supporting the armed forces and guiding their performance in accordance with national military rules.”

In this regard, he underlined his government’s determination to “consolidate the pillars of brotherhood” among the Iraqi people, pledging to provide the citizens with equal rights without any form of discrimination.

Al-Kadhimi vowed to work “despite all the difficulties and obstacles to build a bright future,” adding: “Soon, you will have a role in building your future through your participation in the elections.”

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr. Hussein Allawi, Advisor to the Prime Minister, stressed that Kadhimi was seeking to “build the Iraqi forces away from political pressure so that they can perform their duties, tasks, and obligations in accordance with the military values of patriotism and professionalism.”

“Building and strengthening the work of the Iraqi armed forces per the principle of diversity will allow them to represent all members of Iraqi society, and will make them closer to the citizens,” Allawi stated.



Tunisia Hands Lengthy Prison Terms to Top Politicians and Former Security Officials

Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
TT
20

Tunisia Hands Lengthy Prison Terms to Top Politicians and Former Security Officials

Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)

A Tunisian court on Tuesday handed jail terms of 12 to 35 years on high-profile politicians, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former security officials, a move that critics say underscores the president's use of the judiciary to cement “authoritarian rule”.

Among those sentenced on charges of conspiring against the state in the major mass trial, were Nadia Akacha, the former chief of staff to President Kais Saied, local radio Mosaique FM said. Akacha who fled abroad received 35 years.

Ghannouchi, 84, veteran head of the Islamist-leaning Ennahda party, was handed a 14-year term.

Ghannouchi who was the speaker of the elected parliament dissolved by Saied, has been in prison since 2023, receiving three sentences of a total of 27 years in separate cases in recent months.

A total of 21 were charged in the case, with 10 already in custody and 11 having fled the country.

The court sentenced former intelligence chief Kamel Guizani to 35 years, former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem to 35 years, and Mouadh Ghannouchi, son of Rached Ghannouchi, to 35 years. All three have fled the country.

Saied dissolved the parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree, then dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges, a move that opposition called a coup which undermined the nascent democracy that sparked in 2011 the so-called “Arab Spring” uprisings.

Saied rejects the accusations and says his steps are legal and aim to end years of chaos and corruption hidden within the political elite.

Most opposition leaders, some journalists, and critics of Saied have been imprisoned since he seized control of most powers in 2021.

This year, a court handed jail terms of 5 to 66 years to opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring as well, a case the opposition says is fabricated in an attempt to stamp out opposition to the president.