BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court sentenced former Sunni MP Ahmed Al Alwani to death yesterday for murder, a verdict that could damage Baghdad’s ties with a powerful tribe that is battling jihadists.
“The central criminal court sentenced Ahmed Al Alwani to death... for his killing of two soldiers,” judicial spokesman Abdelsattar Bayraqdar said, without saying when the murders took place.
He has a month to appeal the decision, Bayraqdar said.
Alwani is a member of the Albu Alwan tribe, members of which are fighting against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in the Ramadi area of Anbar province, a key front in the war against IS, which has seized key parts of Iraq since June.
Sheikh Omar Al Alwani, a leader of the Albu Alwan, said that any decision about Alwani should be put on hold and that the verdict could harm the fight against IS.
“All the Albu Alwan tribe is standing against (IS) on the side of the government,” but “half of the Albu Alwan fighters will withdraw if they actually executed Alwani in these circumstances,” the sheikh said, adding that even the former MP’s guards were fighting against IS.
He said the government should wait until the fighting is over and IS defeated, then “take any decision it considers appropriate.”
Illustrating their importance, the US Department of Defence has requested that Congress authorise $18.5m in arms, ammunition and other equipment for tribes in Anbar and a further $5.5m in contingency funding.
AFP
