These two government sanctioned assassins deserve nothing less than what will be handed to chemical Ali or Izzet Al Duri (if they ever find the slimeball). Justice needs to be handed a lifeline and the two criminals in question should have been tried long ago but had the protection of the Sadrist Militias who run the Health Ministry. Great news if it actually happens.
quote:
Health Ministry officials may face possible execution over sectarian murders
An Iraqi judge has ruled that there is enough evidence to try two former Shiite officials in the Health Ministry in the killing and kidnapping of hundreds of Sunnis, many of them snatched from hospitals by militias, according to U.S. officials who are advising the Iraqi judicial system.
The case, which was referred to a three-member tribunal in Baghdad last week, is the first time that an Iraqi magistrate has recommended that such high-ranking Shiites be tried for sectarian violence. But a trial could still be derailed by the Health Ministry, making the case an important test of the government's will to administer justice on a nonsectarian basis. The investigation has confirmed longstanding Sunni fears that hospitals were opened up as a hunting ground for Shiite militias intent on spreading fear among Sunnis and driving them out of the capital.
Even before the case, Baghdad residents told of death threats against doctors who would treat Sunnis, of intravenous lines ripped from patients' arms as they were carried away, and of relatives of hospitalized Sunnis who were killed when they came to visit. The case centers on Hakim al-Zamili, a former deputy health minister, and Brigadier General Hamid al-Shammari, who led the agency's security force, which is charged with protecting the ministry and its hospitals. The two were taken into custody in February and March, but the status of the judicial inquiry into their activities and its findings had not previously been reported.
The inquiry included testimony from nine witnesses, some of whom have been granted visas to live in the United States for their protection. If the trial goes ahead, it will be held in a new Rule of Law complex in the Rusafa section of the capital. The installation was built by the U.S. military this year, and the government has allocated $49 million to operate the facility. Judges live at the heavily fortified compound to protect them from assassination and renegade militias. The proceedings, which could happen in the next few weeks, would be videotaped and open to the public, in accordance with Iraqi law.
One question is whether the Iraqi government will move forward with the trial, which would shine a light on some of the most serious sectarian abuses committed under government cover. The Health Ministry could try to block the case by invoking a section of the law that precludes prosecution of officials who are carrying out their official duties. The Interior Ministry has used this tactic to preclude investigation of a senior National Police officer accused of sectarian crimes. The Iraqi judges slated to try the case have informed the Health Ministry that they want to proceed and have asked for the agency's approval. The Health Ministry has yet to respond.
I think that in order to have real justice, there will need to be a change in the current government. At least 60% of the cabinet ministers (in addittion to the parliament members) have links to militias that carry out sectarian crimes. We have a Prime Minister who himself is linked to militias and who himself was part of a terrorist cell that carried out a wave of bombings against Iraqi embassies in the 1980s and an attack on Mustansiriya University in 1981/82, that was targetting Tareq Aziz and instead killed many students. A cousin of mine who worked at the Health Ministry (but had to leave due to threats from militias operating there) said that all the walls of the hospitals and clinics (let alone the Ministry building) are dominated with images of Sistani, Sadr, Al Hakim, Khameini, etc. Its a jungle! They have taken the country 1000 years back.
Alot of what is going on today is happening under the government's nose. Worst of all, the government does not have the guts nor power to prosecute, punish, and kick private security firms out of Iraq. These firms that hire mainly Americans, South Africans, and Serbs and other ex-convicts, have probebly murderd more innocent Iraqis than what Saddam did in the same time frame.
Therefore Real Justice = Change of government + Bringing back Death Penalty + punishing those responsible
These firms that hire mainly Americans, South Africans, and Serbs and other ex-convicts, have probebly murderd more innocent Iraqis than what Saddam did in the same time frame.
It is very sad that this and many of Saddam's ugly milestones have now been surpased by this government, the Militias, the Americans and private security contractors operating in Iraq.
_____________________________
"As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others" - Nelson Mandela
let me ask you this, what kind of real justice for a change that you really want ?
I'll answer this despite it being obvious. Real justice is when any person or persons is prosecuted breaking the law regardless of their political, ethnical or religious background. Clear enough for you now?
_____________________________
"As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others" - Nelson Mandela
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Come on...lets have some real justice for a change!! - 
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