Charges are ‘politically motivated’ says Hashemi

Iraq’s embattled Sunni vice-president has called government charges that he ran death squads “politically motivated” and called on “all honest Iraqi people” to rise up in his defence.

In a speech yesterday, Tariq al-Hashemi defended himself against charges he said were based on coerced statements. He also questioned why he was being singled out by the Shiite-led government, noting that many insurgents and militias are still free after killing thousands of people in the years Iraq teetered on the brink of civil war.

The charges “are politically motivated,” Mr Hashemi said in the speech broadcast from the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, where he has sought haven from arrest in the autonomous Kurdish region.

“The aim has become very clear: to tarnish the political picture by using lies, forgery and deceit,” he said. “I have no suspicious activities. This is the truth.”

Last week, a judicial panel in Baghdad concluded that Mr Hashemi was behind at least 150 bombings and assassinations since 2005. The conclusions stemmed from a review of a December warrant for his arrest accusing him of paying his bodyguards to kill security forces and government officials.

The warrant was announced the day after American troops withdrew from Iraq, raising eyebrows among critics who called it a first sign of Shia prime minister Nouri al-Maliki seizing power without fear of interference from the US.