The Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, approved the recommendations of the investigative committee formed on December 27, 2022, to consider complaints submitted by citizens who were subjected to human rights violations, against the head of the Diwani Order Committee (29) Canceled, Lieutenant General Ahmed Taha Hashem Abu Ragheef and all members of the committee and the officers and affiliates associated with it.
The government Spokesman, Basem Al-Awadi, said in a statement today, “The investigative committee recommended that the file and the full investigative papers be referred to the judiciary, in order to prove the negligence of the detainees, the guarantors, the fugitives, and everyone whose name was mentioned in the judicial investigation, to obtain a fair penalty in accordance with the law, and to refer the individuals who contributed to these violations, to the retirement”.
The Committee also recommended that “the officers and affiliates participating in these violations not to receive any position in the public service in the future, and the Integrity Commission should follow up cases of money inflation for the accused attributed to the canceled committee (29) or individuals related to them and everyone to whom these violations were attributed. The committee also recommended directing the administrative punishment to the elements and individuals who refrained from informing their references of the above-mentioned commission employees’ violations and abuses of human rights.
The statement added, “In light of these recommendations and in accordance with the fundamental legal procedures represented in the minutes of the Instructions Committee No. (1) for the year 2012, and based on the provisions of Article (36 / First / D) of the Service and Retirement Law for the Internal Security Forces No. (18) for the year 2011, the Minister of Interior approved a committee of the administrative investigation, which included the referral of Lieutenant General Ahmed Abu Ragheef, eight officers and one affiliate to retirement, for violating the provisions of the law.
The investigative committee affirmed, “The committee took all its procedures under the supervision and follow-up of the judiciary, and during the investigation it adhered to the constitutional and legal paths, whether with the accused or in codifying the testimonies of the complainants and witnesses, away from any retaliation or inhuman treatment. This is an affirmation of adopting the spirit and texts of the law, and strengthening the professionalism of the governmental and judicial agencies.
The statement continued, “Our government’s keenness to accomplish this work and to investigate the truth aims first to ensure compliance with Article 37/First/C of the Iraqi constitution, which prohibits psychological and physical torture and inhumane treatment, and extracting confession under coercion, threat, or torture from punishment, whatever the position or powers of the perpetrator, and that the aggressor will receive his just punishment, as long as there are men among us who put the homeland and the law before their eyes.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
