Iraqi Hikmet Movement says detained official must face judiciary alone

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Hikmet (Wisdom) National Movement issued a written statement after one of its officials, Hussein Talib al-Fuzaili, director general of the Petroleum Products Distribution Company, was detained in Baghdad. Movement spokesman Husam al-Hasani said the group fully backs the state's anti-corruption proceedings. Hasani said compliance with the investigation by any official reflects respect for constitutional institutions. He stressed that legal accountability is personal and cannot be transferred to a political, social or institutional umbrella. The statement said every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final ruling and called for the matter to be left to the judiciary. According to the source, al-Fuzaili was detained by security forces in Baghdad on corruption charges, hours before his swearing-in ceremony at the Iraqi Council of Representatives.