| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Iraq | |
| FM summoned over ArabiaÂ’s execution of 40 Iraqis | |
| 2011-01-09 | |
| KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari will be summoned to explain reports that spoke of Saudi Arabia’s decapitation of 40 Iraqis, parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said on Saturday. “The Council of Representatives (parliament) will summon the foreign minister to explain these reports. The Foreign Ministry and other organizations concerned will clarify this issue so that we may take the proper measures,” Nujaifi said during a symposium he held with officials in Karbala province today (Jan. 8). Nujaifi’s statements came in response to questions by Karbala Provincial Council member Abbas Hassani, who called for condemning the executions and stopping prisoners swap with Saudi Arabia pending clarifications. “Saudis have reportedly beheaded Iraqis who lost their way while we repatriate Saudi terrorists to their country after they killed our sons in cold blood,” Hassani, who chairs the Karbala Provincial Council’s Reconstruction & Strategic Planning Committee, added. The reports sparked wide-scale reactions on the Iraqi streets and political circles. The Iraqi human rights ministry called last week for launching an international probe into the reported beheadings, accusing Riyadh of decapitating dozens of Iraqi nationals without fair trials. The ministry also urged the international community to intervene over the issue of hundreds of Iraqis detained in Saudi prisons.
| |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 "40" is a common figure used in that culture to mean "many". It's the whole "40 days and 40 nights" thing. Not literally 40. When a Bedouin says "40", they mean "more than a few" as in a dozen or more. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2011-01-09 20:14 |
| #4 Aswat al-Iraq is one of several Iraqi news agencies. Yes, but I was referring to the "40" figure? Where did that number come from? Is there a list of names? What crime were they charged with? Where were these men executed? Rumors can take a life of their own in many Arab countries. And not without good reason. The rumor mill may be more accurate that anything you're likely to find in a dictator's newspaper. |
| Posted by: Pstanley 2011-01-09 11:16 |
| #3 I'd bet they could find 40 Soddies in Iraqi jails... for equal relations and all that |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-01-09 10:38 |
| #2 Pstanley, Aswat al-Iraq is one of several Iraqi news agencies. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2011-01-09 07:15 |
| #1 Is this based on any newspaper/government/NGO report, or is it just the old rumor mill? |
| Posted by: Pstanley 2011-01-09 00:29 |