Baghdad-INA
Foreign Ministry on Saturday denied claims that diplomats or members of their families were involved in the case of exam booklets allegedly smuggled outside the country.
In a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the ministry said that information circulating on social media platforms regarding the alleged smuggling of examination booklets outside Iraq, including references to names, official positions and family affiliations, was false.
The ministry said claims that an employee at the Iraqi Embassy in Ukraine bearing the name mentioned in the reports and serving in the capacity of “consul general” was involved in the case were unfounded, noting that no employee at the embassy bears that name or holds such a position. It added that reports alleging that the granddaughter of an Iraqi ambassador graduated through the purported scheme were also baseless, stressing that implicating the families of Iraqi diplomats without evidence constitutes an affront to the individuals concerned and misleads public opinion.
The ministry stressed that Iraqi schools abroad are administered by the Ministry of Education, which oversees their administrative, educational and examination affairs in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, while the Foreign Ministry has no role in managing those educational institutions or directly supervising their examination procedures.
The statement added that, while the Foreign Ministry affirms its respect for freedom of expression and responsible journalism, it calls on media outlets and social media users to exercise accuracy, obtain information from official sources and refrain from publishing or circulating unverified information that harms the reputation of individuals and institutions.
The ministry added that it reserves the right to take appropriate legal action against anyone found to have deliberately published false or misleading information that harms its employees or undermines the reputation of Iraq’s diplomatic institution.