 September 28, 2004Iraqi Judge Closes Case Against Ahmad Chalabi
The judge, Zuhair al-Maliky, said in a telephone interview that he decided about a week and a half ago that "the evidence was not enough to bring the case to trial." If more evidence emerges, he said, the case will be reopened. The move appears to be a minor victory by Mr. Chalabi over the interim government led by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a longtime rival of Mr. Chalabi's. The government announced the counterfeiting charge against Mr. Chalabi in August, while he was on vacation at a summer home in Iran. At the time, it appeared to many that the charge was a move by Mr. Allawi to dissuade him from re-entering the country. But Mr. Chalabi did return to Iraq and proceeded to denounce the government, meeting with reporters to proclaim his innocence and vow to return to political life. He aligned himself with Shiite religious leaders here, recasting himself as a champion of Shiite rights. It was the latest twist in Mr. Chalabi's fortunes since he returned to Iraq in the spring of 2003 after decades in exile. Once favored by the Bush administration to be Iraq's first leader after Saddam Hussein's fall, he has spent the last few months fighting for his political future. American and Iraqi forces raided his house here in May on suspicion that he had leaked secrets to Iran. His fortunes sank further when the Americans anointed Dr. Allawi as interim prime minister. Soon afterward, Judge Maliky issued arrest warrants for Mr. Chalabi in the counterfeiting case and for his nephew, Salem Chalabi, in a murder case. At the time, Salem Chalabi was the head of the special Iraqi tribunal set up to try Mr. Hussein and his associates, putting him in a potentially powerful position to command public support. He has accused Judge Maliky and Dr. Allawi of using the charges to dismiss him just five months into his three-year term and win control of the tribunal; Dr. Allawi has said he resigned. Judge Maliky said Monday that the murder investigation, in the killing of a Finance Ministry official involved in an investigation of the Chalabi family's business dealings, was still in force against Salem Chalabi. A seemingly unrelenting string of car bombings continued Monday, when seven Iraqi national guardsmen were killed by a suicide car bomber who rammed into their convoy in the northern city of Mosul, health officials in the city said. Eight people were wounded. In Baghdad, the American military carried out airstrikes on Sunday night and early Monday against residents of Sadr City, the vast and impoverished Shiite district in northeastern Baghdad. The area is home to the Mahdi Army, the militia led by the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr. The overnight strikes killed at least six people and wounded at least 46 others, said Qasim Saddam, director of Chewadir Hospital. Among the wounded were 15 women and nine children, he said. A Mahdi Army official who gave his name as Abu Thar said all the people in the hospital were civilians because "we do not admit our casualties into hospitals fearing they might be arrested by the Americans." The American military released a statement on Monday evening that disputed the reports of civilian casualties. "Early indications are that injuries to a large group of people as a result of this engagement did not occur as is being reported," it said, adding that officers had begun an internal investigation "to determine the full set of facts on this matter." Late Monday night, an AC-130 gunship and other aircraft fired into the streets of Sadr City, and loud explosions could be heard for miles. One witness said soldiers in armored vehicles had formed a perimeter along some of the outer streets. Two soldiers with the First Infantry Division died near the town of Balad on Tuesday, one in an automobile accident and the other in an ambush while riding in a patrol that was returning from the scene of the accident, the American military said. The military also said it was charging two First Cavalry Division soldiers, Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne Jr. and Staff Sgt. Cardenas Alban, with murder. The military said the Army's criminal investigation division was still looking into the accusations and declined to give details. The soldiers are in Company C, First Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment. Last Wednesday, the military said it was charging two other soldiers from the same unit with murder. The latest murder charges are unrelated to the ones brought last week, the military said Monday. On Saturday, the military said it had sentenced a soldier from the First Infantry Division to 25 years in prison for the death of a member of the Iraqi National Guard in May. In that case, the soldier, Specialist Federico Merida, pleaded guilty to murder. On Monday morning, insurgents fired several mortar shells at a police training center in eastern Baghdad, along Palestine Street, and at an American base in the area. Since April, insurgents have fired nearly 3,000 mortar rounds in Baghdad alone, Lt. Col. James Hutton, a spokesman for the First Cavalry Division, said in a written statement. Iraq Pays I.M.F. $81 Million WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (Reuters) - Iraq cleared about $81 million in debt it owed the International Monetary Fund late last week, fund sources said Monday, opening the way for new aid to flow from the global lender to Iraq. They said the fund's board was expected to approve $800 million in financing for Iraq under a program for nations beset by conflict. The aid typically comes with less stringent economic policy terms than regular programs. An Iraqi employee of The New York Times contributed reporting from Mosul for this article. |
AGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 27 - A senior Iraqi judge said
Monday that he had closed a case brought against Ahmad Chalabi, the former
exile leader once backed by the Pentagon, for suspected involvement in a
counterfeiting operation. 
