ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) on Friday announced the arrests of five people accused of involvement in the assassination of Shiite cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and oppressing Kurds during the reign of the Baath regime decades ago.
"Through a series of precise intelligence operations, the National Security Agency managed to arrest five of the most notorious criminals from the followers of the former regime who had recorded pages of terror and mass killing,” INSS spokesperson Arshad al-Hakim said during a press conference.
He said the arrests of the "criminal gang" were “carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Dissolved Ba'ath Party Prohibition Law and with high-level coordination with all relevant authorities and the judicial institution."
One of the suspects, Sadoun Sabri Jamil, was a senior commander under the Baath regime. The accusations against him include the killing of Sadr and his sister “with his personal weapon” and mass executions of members of opposition parties.
Haitham Abdul Aziz Faiq, another of the men arrested, was also a top commander. He is accused of supervising the killings of Sadr and his sister as well as members of the Dawa Party.
Sadr is the father-in-law of the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. He was a popular cleric and critic of the Baathist regime. He was executed in 1980.
The third suspect is Khairallah Hammadi Abd, a former major general. He was allegedly involved in the suppression of Fayli Kurds in Baghdad in 1974 and forcibly displacing regime opponents.
Shaker Yahya is accused of taking part in the executions of Kurdish detainees in Baghdad in 1984 and of preventing people from holding ceremonies to mourn Sadr.
The final suspect was identified as Nimat Mohammed Suhail. His crimes included "leading arrest and torture campaigns targeting more than 40 university students in Sulaimani and other universities, involvement in the arrest of three opponents in Sulaimani,” according to the INSS spokesperson.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani commended the security forces on the operation.
“The National Security Service members, along with the other state security teams, continue to demonstrate their unwavering dedication to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that justice prevails, leaving no room for impunity,” he said in a statement.
“With the recent achievement of justice through the apprehension of key figures from the criminal repressive apparatus of the Saddam-era Ba’athist regime - those responsible for the killing of the martyr Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir Al-Sadr, may he rest in peace, his sister, and a group of martyrs from Sayyid Al-Hakim family, along with thousands of innocent Iraqis whose lives were lost in the darkness of prisons - we reaffirm our steadfast commitment to the relentless pursuit of criminals, no matter how long they evade justice,” he added.
