Source: Iraqi Court sentences Zaid Al-Talaqani to 1 year in prison

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi judiciary has sentenced Zaid Al-Talaqani, the chairman of the Rafidain Center for Dialogue (RCD), to one year in prison, an informed source reported on Sunday.

The source told Shafaq News, “The Najaf Criminal Court issued the sentence after Al-Talaqani was found to have made derogatory remarks about Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in leaked recordings.”

Al-Talaqani surrendered to the Najaf Investigation Court at the end of August. Earlier in the month, a Special Operations Unit (SWAT) raided the Al-Rafidain Center in Najaf to arrest its chairman, seizing weapons and removing security personnel, but he was not present during the raid.

Recently, the Najaf Investigation Court issued an arrest warrant against Al-Talaqani under Article 430 of the Iraqi Penal Code, following a complaint from Ghaith Abu Shibaa, Deputy Chairman of the Najaf Provincial Council, who had been threatened by Al-Talaqani.

Under Article 430 of the Iraqi Penal Code, threats intended to coerce, defame, or cause harm can result in up to seven years in prison.

“Anyone who threatens another person with committing a felony against themselves, their property, or the property of others, or with defamation, with the intent to coerce them into doing or refraining from doing something, can be punished with up to seven years in prison or a lesser sentence.”