Iraqi Commission of Integrity
BAGHDAD,— Iraq’s Commission of Integrity said on Wednesday it had issued arrest warrants for several officials, including Kirkuk’s deputy governor for technical affairs.
The Commission said in a statement that it had also issued arrest warrants for Kirkuk University’s assistant director for scientific affairs, the former head of the college of law, and the head of the law section in accordance with Article 331 of Iraqi Penal Code.
Arrest warrants were issued for ten former secretaries of the Kirkuk-branch oil storage facility for allegedly violating Article 349. The officials were in charge there from 2015 until 2018.
It also ordered the arrest of the former mayor of Dubis on charges related to Article 322.
Kirkuk is an oil-rich and multi-ethnic province that sits within a belt of territory known as the “disputed areas,” which is claimed both by the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government.
The province was largely controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government before 2017. In October of that year, Kurdish forces were pushed out of the city by the Iraqi Army in response to the Kurdistan region’s controversial independence referendum.
The federal government is under intense pressure from massive street protests to crack down on corruption, which is endemic in Iraq and the Kurdistan region.
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