Iraq's Supreme Judiciary Council has charged fugitive Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi and some of his bodyguards with several murders, including those of six judges, officials said Monday.
Council spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said Monday that said the trial against Hashemi and a number of his guards would begin on Thursday. Hashemi is not expected to attend the court proceedings as he had fled the country immediately after a warrant was issued for his arrest in December.
Bayrkdar said about 150 charges have been pressed against Hashemi and his bodyguards so far, and that the figure could increase further. He, however, did not provide a breakdown of the charges or say how many of the 150 counts were pressed against Hashemi.
"There are many crimes that Hashemi and his guards are accused of and there were confessions obtained, including on the assassinations of six judges," Bayrkdar said. He added that thirteen of Hashemi's guards had been released for lack of evidence, leaving 73 others in custody.
The Iraqi government accuses Hashemi of running death squads that targeted Shiite pilgrims as well as government and security officials from 2005 to 2011. The Iraqi government also claims that three suspects, identified as Hashemi's bodyguards, have linked the Vice-President to killings and attacks on several Iraqi government and security officials.
Hashemi had sought refuge in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, which has its own government and security forces, soon after the Iraqi government issued a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges on December 19.
Despite repeated requests by the Iraqi government to hand Hashemi over, the Kurdistan government has refused to comply. The Kurdistan government also allowed Hashemi to visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, ignoring the charges pressed against him by Iraqi authorities.
Although the Iraqi government formally requested Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to hand over Hashemi to stand trial in Baghdad, these nations have also rejected the Iraqi request. Hashemi has refused to stand trial in Baghdad and rejected the charges against him as politically motivated.
Hashemi is a senior leader of the the secular but Sunni-dominated Iraqiya party headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. The Iraqiya party and its Sunni allies claim the charges against Hashemi are politically motivated and accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite politician, of monopolizing power by retaining key posts in the coalition government for his Shiite bloc.
The warrant for Hashemi had evoked fears that it may trigger fresh sectarian violence in the divided country after the recent withdrawal of American forces. Analysts also fear that it might derail the country's delicate power-sharing agreement.
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