Iraqi VP Hashemi, Guards Charged With Killing Six Judges
Iraq’s fugitive Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and some of his bodyguards have been charged with killing six judges, ahead of a trial that is to open on Thursday, a judicial spokesman said.
Hashemi, who is currently in Turkey, is not expected to attend.
“There are many crimes of which Hashemi and his bodyguards are accused and confessions were obtained on them, including the assassination of six judges, mostly from Baghdad,” Higher Judicial Council spokesman Abdelsattar Bayraqdar said in a statement.
Bayraqdar put the number of charges announced against Hashemi and his bodyguards so far at about 150, adding that the figure could increase, without providing a breakdown of the charges or giving details on how many Hashemi in particular faces.
He said that around 13 of Hashemi’s guards had been released for lack of evidence, leaving some 73 others.