KDP leader: Judiciary must be impartial, by deeds and words

Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader, Hoshyar Zebari, said that the sit-in of al-Sadr's supporters in front of the Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad "delivered the required message."

"The Iraqis, the rational reference, and its representatives have repeatedly demanded the reform of the Judiciary…The Judiciary must be impartial and stand at the same distance, by deeds, not words. The constitution is the reference."

Earlier today, Iraq's Judiciary suspended its activities on Tuesday as loyalists of al-Sadr pressured it to dissolve Parliament in one of the worst political crises since the U.S.-led invasion dragged on.

The demonstrators called for meeting the demands of the influential Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, including dissolving the Parliament to hold an early parliamentary election.

Al-Sadr's followers have sent threats by phone, the Judiciary said in a statement.

Al-Sadr, who fought U.S. troops and became a kingmaker in Iraqi politics, has called for early elections and unspecified constitutional changes after withdrawing his lawmakers from Parliament in June.

His political opponents, mostly fellow Shiites backed by Iran, have refused to accede to his demands, raising fears of fresh unrest and violence in a conflict-weary Iraq.

Iraq's 10-month standoff since the election is the longest stretch without a fully functioning government in the nearly two decades since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in a U.S.-led in 2003.

Al-Sadr was the biggest winner of last year's election but could not form a majoritarian government along with Kurdish and Sunni Muslim Arab parties, excluding his Iran-backed Shiite rivals