A court in Iraq on Wednesday ordered Britain's Guardian newspaper to pay a fine of 100 million dinars or $86,000 for defaming Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in an article published in April.
The article in question was written in April by local Iraqi reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, and it quoted three unnamed Iraqi intelligence officials as saying that the Iraqi Prime Minister was becoming increasingly autocratic in running the country's affairs.
Wednesday's court ruling came after the Iraqi intelligence service filed a complaint in the court against the contents of the article published in the Guardian.
The ruling was based on evidence provided by a five-member expert panel, which argued that Iraqi law prohibits foreigners from publishing articles critical of the country's prime minister or president. The panel's advice, however, appeared to overlook the fact that Abdul-Ahad is an Iraqi citizen.
Following Wednesday's court ruling, Guardian's editor Alan Rusbridger described it as a "dismaying development" that threatened the creation of a free Iraq. He stressed that the newspaper would "vigorously contest" the verdict.
"Prime minister Maliki is trying to construct a new, free Iraq," Rusbridger said. "Freedom means little without free speech - and means even less if a head of state tries to use the law of libel to punish criticism or dissent."
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.