ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three Sunni-majority provinces have declared Wednesday holiday in protest to the federal supreme court’s ruling to temporarily halt the implementation of three crucial laws, including one which could lead to the release of many Sunnis who have been jailed for terror charges.
Iraq's Federal Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily suspended the implementation of three laws concerning general amnesty, personal status, and the return of land confiscated under the Baath regime to its original Kurdish owners, following recent amendments.
Nineveh and Salahaddin provinces declared Wednesday holiday and Anbar declared a three-day holiday in protest to the court ruling.
Mohammed al-Halbousi, a prominent Sunni politician, the court ruling, labeling the top court “unconstitutional.”
“We do not accept that the Federal Court (unconstitutional) be politicized and that laws and legislation be disregarded and that its unfair state order be issued against the innocent and oppressed,” he said, calling for “massive demonstrations that shake the foundations of injustice.”
Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni lawmakers last year introduced three bills which later became a headache for the parliament as discussions and voting on them were repeatedly delayed due to agreements. However, in a surprising move on January 21, the legislators agreed to pass all three bills, ending months of disputes.
The general amnesty bill, submitted by Sunni lawmakers, seeks to amend the 2016 law’s definition of affiliation with terrorist organizations, a key demand from the Sunni community for joining the ruling State Administration Coalition. Sunnis argue that thousands from their community have been unjustly imprisoned in Shiite-dominated Iraq since 2003 over alleged terrorism links.
The court ruling came after a number of lawmakers filed a complaint at the federal court, arguing that the method of passing all three draft laws together was illegal.
"The three draft laws should not be voted on together. Such action is contrary to law and constitution,” Basim Khashan, one of the lawmakers who filed the lawsuit against the amendments, told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Khashan explained that during the parliamentary session, there were concerns that one of the draft laws might not receive enough votes, so they were voted on together, which is against the law and constitution. He indicated that each draft law must be voted on separately.
