Shafaq News- Najaf
Najaf's Friday prayer leader Sadr al-Din al-Qubanchi on Friday rejected proposals to ease judicial measures against corruption suspects in exchange for returning stolen public funds, warning that such a policy would encourage further corruption.
Speaking during Friday prayers, al-Qubanchi said Iraqis had welcomed the government's Dawn Crackdown (Sawlat Al-Fajr) anti-corruption campaign with optimism, but proposals to pardon those involved in corruption cases after they repaid stolen money had raised concerns. "Such a project would explicitly encourage theft to happen again," he said, calling on Iraq's judiciary to deal with corruption cases "with complete justice and firmness."
Al-Qubanchi also urged authorities to ensure corruption investigations remain free from domestic or external pressure, stressing that everyone implicated should be subject to the government's anti-corruption campaign. He also warned against attempts to politicize the crackdown.
Earlier today, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced it was coordinating with the Prime Minister's Office on a legal and constitutional framework that would ease judicial measures against suspects in financial and administrative corruption cases if they voluntarily returned stolen public funds.