- The Kurdistan Region will not turn in Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi, who has been accused of terrorism, to Baghdad, said the President of the region Massoud Barzani today.
"...This is not Kurdish ethnics [to turn someone in who is seeking refugee]," Barzani told a conference of Kurdish youths in Erbil.

"Hashimi’s case is twofold; it is a political as well as a legal one.”

He continued: “We will not allow Hashimi to go irregularly. If he goes, he will do so publicly because he is the Vice President of Iraq."

Barzani's statement came in response to rumors that Hashimi might discreetly flee Iraq through the Kurdistan Region if Baghdad authorities continue to press Kurdish leaders to return him.

Hashimi is wanted by Baghdad's justice system for involvement in 150 attacks on security forces and government officials and employees.

Rejecting the accusations, Hashimi is currently hiding in the Kurdistan Region to escape what he describes as “politicized courts” in Baghdad. He has called for his case to be heard in Kurdish courts or a court in Kirkuk.






AKnews