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Head of Iraqi Judiciary Defends Performance amid Criticism in Tackling Killing of Protesters

Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq, Faiq Zaidan. (INA)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq, Faiq Zaidan. (INA)
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Head of Iraqi Judiciary Defends Performance amid Criticism in Tackling Killing of Protesters

Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq, Faiq Zaidan. (INA)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq, Faiq Zaidan. (INA)

Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq, Faiq Zaidan defended on Thursday the judiciary against massive criticism from the people and local and international rights groups over his handling of and verdicts in several cases, especially those related to the killing and assassination of protesters and activists.

In an interview with the official state news agency (INA), he said the judiciary has issued warrants against the murderers of prominent researcher Hisham al-Hashemi as Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of his murder.

Zaidan did not elaborate over the case that has preoccupied the Iraqi public for a year.

Commenting on the progress in cases of the murder of anti-government protesters, he stated that some death penalties have been issued against officers in Babel and Wasit.

He added, however, that these cases are “complicated” as many sides are involved in them, including political parties eyeing electoral goals.

Months ago, government authorities had announced an official tally of 550 protester deaths in anti-government demonstrations. Thousands of others in Baghdad and central and southern provinces have also suffered critical injuries.

The government had formed teams to probe the violence but they have yet to announce any findings and rulings.

Asked about the release of prominent Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) official, Qassem Muslih, weeks ago after his arrest on suspicion of involvement in the killing of protesters, Zaidan replied that the judiciary had not succumbed to any pressure to let him go.

Rather, he explained there was insufficient evidence to implicate him in the murder of protesters, including prominent activist Ihab al-Wazni.

Moreover, he revealed that Muslih was not even in Iraq when Wazni was killed and that was why he was released.

The activist was killed in Karbala in May and his family openly accused Muslih of being involved.

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Arab World

Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
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Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)

Israel’s insistence that France can not be a member of the international committee that will monitor a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon is due to a series of French practices that have disturbed Israel recently, political sources in Tel Aviv revealed.
These practices are most notably attributed to the French judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, who has joined other judges to unanimously issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the sources revealed.
“The Israeli government is following with concern the French role at The Hague,” they said, noting that veteran French lawyer Gilles Devers led a team of 300 international lawyers of various nationalities who volunteered to accuse Israel of “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
According to the Israeli Maariv newspaper, Israeli officials believe that Devers, who signed the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Galant, would not have dared to do so without having received a green light from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Israeli sources also mentioned other reasons for Israel’s anger at France, such as the government’s decision to bar Israeli firms from exhibiting at the Euronaval arms show near Paris earlier this month.
French officials have repeatedly said that Paris is committed to Israel's security and point out that its military helped defend Israel after Iranian attacks in April and earlier this month.
Paris has so far also refused to recognize the Palestinian state. But the Israeli government is not satisfied. It wants France to follow the United States and blindly support its war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Tel Aviv also feels incredibly confident that France should be punished, and therefore, decided that Paris could not participate in the Lebanese ceasefire agreement, knowing that the Israeli government itself has traveled to Paris several times begging for its intervention, especially during the war on Lebanon.
Meanwhile, an air of optimism has emerged in Israel around the chances for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon following negotiations led by US envoy Amos Hochstein.
But any optimism relies on Netanyahu’s final decision. The PM is still conducting talks with his friends and allies of the far right who reject the ceasefire agreement and instead, demand that Lebanese citizens not be allowed to return to their villages on the border with Israel. They also request that a security belt be turned into a permanently depopulated and mined zone.
Hochstein Talks
Meanwhile, political sources in Israel claim that what is holding up a ceasefire deal so far is Lebanon. According to Israel's Channel 12, Hochstein expressed a “firm stance” during his talks with the Lebanese side. The envoy delivered clear terms that were passed on to Hezbollah, which the channel said “led to significant progress” in the talks.
Israeli officials said that Tel Aviv is moving towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon with Hezbollah in the coming days.
The channel said that during his late visit to Tel Aviv, coming from Beirut after talks with Speaker Nabih Barri, Hochstein said, “I placed before them (Lebanese officials) a final warning, and it seems to have been effective.”
Iran Obstacle
Despite the “positive atmosphere,” informed diplomatic sources pointed to a major obstacle: Iran.
Channel 12 quoted the sources as saying that Lebanon has not yet received the final approval required from Iran, which has significant influence over Hezbollah.

According to the draft proposal, the Lebanese Army must be redeployed to the south and carry out a comprehensive operation to remove weapons from villages. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will “supervise and monitor the implementation of the operation.”
Channel 12 said Israel believes that such details could still derail the agreement. It also said that Hezbollah could violate the truce.
“In such cases, Israel would have to conduct military operations inside the Lebanese territory,” the channel reported, adding that “one of the unsettled issues is related to the committee that will oversee the implementation of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
The sources said Tel Aviv “insists that France is not part of the agreement, nor part of the committee that will oversee its implementation.”