Irakischer Minister wegen Korruption verurteilt
Demonstranten fordern ein Ende der Korruption im Irak
Es geschieht selten in dieser Weltregion, dass mal wer für all das Geld, dass er sich in die eigenen Taschen geschaufelt hat, zur Rechenschaft gezogen wird und kann durchaus als erfreuliches Novum bezeichnet werden:
A Baghdad court on Sunday sentenced a former Iraqi minister and a general manager from the same ministry each to two years in prison for corruption, after $25 million went missing from projects planned for the capital.
The Supreme Judicial Council issued a statement on Sunday, saying that the criminal court of Karkh (the western half of Baghdad) sentenced Riad al-Gharib, a former minister of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works, and his colleague Hashem Abdel-Zahra to prison for public money that went missing in 2007.
Gharib served as minister between 2006 and 2010, continuing as a member of parliament for Karbala until 2018. He was a member of the State of Law Coalition led by former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The court, which specializes in integrity cases, issued its ruling for "breaching the contracts of setting up (17) asphalt plants with a value of 25 million dollars in 2007."
The court has given the right to the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works to demand compensation for the damages caused by the breach.