Legal expert comments on MP Al-Salami’s imprisonment

Shafaq News / Legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi commented, on Monday, on the fate of the membership of MP Hadi Al-Salami in the Iraqi Parliament following the issuance of a decision to imprison him.

Al-Tamimi told Shafaq News Agency that "MP Al-Salami has the right to appeal the decision issued against him for a six-month imprisonment within a period of 30 days. If the decision becomes final, the parliamentary membership is then revoked, and he is replaced by the candidate with the highest votes within his electoral district."

Regarding parliamentary immunity, Al-Tamimi explained that "there is a previous decision by the Federal Court, No. (90) of 2019, in which the court amended a previous decision regarding the approval of the Council of Representatives. Now, the approval of the Council is only required for felony cases involving arrest warrants on such charges, and it requires a parliamentary vote."

The legal expert added, "Apart from felony cases, approval or voting is not required, and any misdemeanor case or similar is treated like any ordinary citizen's case, and any legal action against the MP is taken as per the law."

Call for an emergency session

Meanwhile, Habib Al-Hillawi, the head of the Sadiqun Bloc, called on the parliament presidency to hold an emergency session to discuss the reasons for the arrest of MP Hadi Al-Salami.

Al-Hillawi stated in a brief statement to Shafaq News Agency, "We demand the presidency of the parliament to hold an emergency session to discuss the reasons for the arrest of MP Hadi Al-Salami and the encroachment on the legislative authority before submitting a request to parliament to lift immunity."

This comes at a time when Iraqi Parliament member Mustafa Sanad announced that the judiciary in the country sentenced his colleague Hadi Al-Salami to six months in prison for defamation related to the food basket.

Sanad stated on Facebook, "Unfortunately, MP Hadi Al-Salami has been sentenced to six months in prison, due to a defamation lawsuit related to the food basket."

Al-Salami had filed a complaint to the public prosecution in September 2022 in a corruption and embezzlement case related to the food basket project.

At the end of the same year, investigations began into violations and corruption in the food basket project at the Ministry of Trade.

Al-Salami then published a document clarifying the decision of the authority to notify the legal representative of the Ministry of Trade to attend to record his statements regarding the subject of the case.

Trade denies issuance of defamation judgment

For its part, the Iraqi Ministry of Trade denied that the judgment issued against MP Al-Salami pertains to the defamation case related to the food basket.

The ministry explained that on March 5, 2024, the Karkh Misdemeanor Court specialized in integrity issues issued its decision to imprison Hadi Hassan Al-Salami and impose a fine per the provisions of Article (331) of the Iraqi Penal Code, for forging and using a fabricated document attributed to the Federal Financial Control Bureau, which was later proven to be forged to defaming and tarnishing the reputation of the ministry and misleading public opinion by submitting these forged documents to government agencies and circulating them through the media.

The statement further clarified that the defamation case is still undergoing separate legal proceedings, completely unrelated to this lawsuit. The ministry affirmed its right to claim compensation for the damage caused by the fabrication and use of these documents.

The judgment was issued according to the provisions of Article (182) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as a final and enforceable verdict.