Latest news with #AmnestyLaw
Shafaq News
a day ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq frees 1,500+ detainees under amnesty law
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced a new set of figures related to the implementation of the amended Amnesty Law, covering the period from May 25 to May 29, 2025. According to a statement, a total of 1,534 detainees and convicts held in prisons and detention centers across the country were released. Additionally, 5,896 individuals—either wanted on arrest warrants, facing financial liabilities, or convicted in absentia—were also granted legal reprieve. Including figures published on May 22, 24,754 individuals have now been released under the law, with 111,017 beneficiaries overall, including those with pending legal cases or convictions. During the same timeframe, Iraq recovered 3,494,402,206 Iraqi dinars (about $247.3K), the council revealed, adding that the total amount of recovered public funds now exceeds 20.1 billion Iraqi dinars (about $1.415M).
Shafaq News
a day ago
- General
- Shafaq News
KRG's Amnesty Law draft held up by political deadlock
Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has finalized a draft of the General Amnesty Law, but its passage remains on hold until the new session of the Kurdistan Parliament convenes, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kwestan Maarouf said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Maarouf explained that the previous KRG cabinet had prepared the bill and that ten members of the former Parliament had also submitted a related legislative proposal. However, political disagreements and the dissolution of the previous Parliament stalled the process. 'Despite holding an initial meeting with relevant government bodies, the Parliament failed to convene for a vote in its final year, and was later dissolved,' she said. Maarouf noted that the new Parliament can combine both the cabinet's draft and the MPs' proposal into a single, unified Amnesty Law. About the Law Kurdistan Region's Amnesty Law, enacted in December 2017 under Law No. 4, allowed for pardons for prisoners and detainees under specific conditions, including reconciliation between involved parties or partial sentence completion. The law excluded serious offenses such as terrorism-related crimes, threats to regional security, corruption, premeditated murder, incest, sexual assault, human trafficking, antiquities smuggling, currency counterfeiting, and kidnapping resulting in death, permanent disability, or disappearance.
Shafaq News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq frees +3,400 prisoners under new Amnesty Law
Shafaq News/ Iraq released 3,441 inmates from various correctional facilities since the implementation of the General Amnesty Law began, up to May 19, an Iraqi official announced on Tuesday. The Director General of the Ministry of Justice's Correctional Department, Majid Al-Manzour, noted in a statement that the releases are part of the ministry's ongoing legal procedures to enforce the law's provisions in coordination with the relevant judicial authorities. 'Internal teams are working to expedite the review of inmate files to ensure those eligible for amnesty are released in accordance with legal conditions,' he stated, stressing the ministry's commitment to implementing the law with a sense of responsibility and fairness. On May 13, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced the release of more than 19,000 prisoners under the law and confirmed the recovery of significant state funds. Earlier, Fadel Al-Gharawi, Head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, told Shafaq News that some released individuals may reoffend or struggle to reintegrate into society if not provided with adequate support before release. Those concerns were reinforced by recent security reports. The police command in Najaf province announced on Monday the arrest of three individuals—recently released under the Amnesty Law—who confessed to involvement in a series of thefts.
Shafaq News
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq's Amnesty Law to cover key figure in Theft of the Century
Shafaq News/ The recently passed Iraqi General Amnesty Law will include Haitham Al-Jubouri, one of the main figures involved in the Theft of the Century, the Parliamentary Legal Committee announced on Tuesday. In 2022, more than three trillion Iraqi dinars (2.5 billion USD) were lost in a tax embezzlement case known as the Theft of the Century, involving figures such as Nour Zuhair, Raad Jouhi, Al-Jubouri, and others. Committee member Mohammad Jassim Al-Khafaji confirmed in a post on Facebook that one of "the public money thieves" will be included in the amnesty, with hundreds more set to follow. "We did not receive support when we asked for the law to be safeguarded against these mercenaries who stole the people's money, and we were accused of opposing the innocent and the oppressed,' he added. The MP attached his post with an official request, signed by Judge Khaled Saddam, Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court, addressed to the Baghdad Karkh Appeals Court, requesting the inclusion of Al-Jubouri in the Amnesty Law. Earlier, Independent MP Yasser Al-Husseini revealed that the law would include those involved in the embezzlement issue as well as other corrupt individuals, while the Legal Committee denied claims that it would include Zuhair, the main suspect.
Shafaq News
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Sadrist Movement to take charge of 200+ amnesty cases
Shafaq News/ Saraya Al-Salam, the military wing of the Sadrist Movement, formed a committee to review more than 200 legal cases under Iraq's General Amnesty Law, the group announced on Saturday. According to a document addressed to the leader of the Patriotic Shiite Movement (Sadrist), Muqtada Al-Sadr, the committee will focus on examining and following up on the cases of 204 individuals covered by the Amnesty Law. Earlier, the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council instructed the Directorate of Prisons to immediately release those granted amnesty after the Iraqi Parliament passed the law along with the Restitution and Personal Status laws on January 21.
