AP: A Spanish judge wants to question Iraq’s prime minister and three Iraqi army officers in a probe into the killing of Iranians exiled in Iraq.
The Associated Press
MADRID (AP) — A Spanish judge wants to question Iraq’s prime minister and three Iraqi army officers in a probe into the killing of Iranians exiled in Iraq.
Judge Fernando Andreu this week said he wanted to question the four as he expands his probe into the killing of 11 Iranian exiles living in Camp Ashraf in Iraq in 2009 to include the killing of another 35 people there on April 8.
He summoned the three Iraqi officers to the National Court on Oct. 3 and said he would call Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki when his immunity as premier expires on leaving office.
Spain’s universal justice doctrine allows it to prosecute grave crimes committed in other countries under certain conditions, such as when the country where a crime allegedly took place is not investigating.
Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Iranian Resistance exile group, said the Iraqi government was hounding residents in Camp Ashraf 24 hours a day with noise from loudspeakers. She urged the United States to retake control of the camp from Iraqi forces “in order to prevent another massacre.”
“Maliki must now put an end to the siege on Ashraf and all suppressive measures against Ashraf must stop,” she said in a statement.
