Najaf Friday preacher rejects leniency for corruption defendants

NAJAF, Iraq — Najaf's Friday preacher, Sadreddin Kabancı, on Friday rejected legal proposals that would allow corruption defendants to avoid prison by returning stolen public funds, saying such an approach would encourage theft. Delivering the sermon after weekly prayers, Kabancı called on Iraq's judiciary to try the suspects with "justice and determination" and warned that corruption files must be handled free of pressure from inside Iraq or neighboring countries. Kabancı also cautioned that the campaign exposing the so-called "Fajr" corruption cases was being pushed toward politicization. His remarks coincided with a comprehensive statement issued the same day by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, which said it was working on a constitutional and legal "roadmap," in coordination with the Prime Minister's Office, that would ease judicial proceedings against administrative and financial corruption suspects in exchange for the voluntary return of public funds. The council said the mechanism had previously been applied in the "tax deposits" case and would also be followed for defendants in the "Northern Refineries Company" case. Further details on the roadmap's next steps were not immediately available.