Political disputes delay General Amnesty Law

Shafaq News / Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Murtadha Al-Saadi, affirmed on Thursday that the lack of agreement among political blocs on the classification of terrorism and distinguishing who is a terrorist from others is hindering the approval of the General Amnesty Law.

Al-Saadi told Shafaq News Agency that "the General Amnesty Law is currently stalled in the parliament because the political blocs have not yet agreed on the classification of who is a terrorist based on the actions they have committed, as well as dividing the categories covered by this title."

He added that "the Parliamentary Legal Committee has read the law and sent its draft to the Presidency of the Parliament for the first reading, but disagreements prevented its inclusion in the parliament's agenda."

He emphasized that "there is a significant debate on the classification of terrorism, and many political forces oppose the release of terrorists from prisons. However, there are also individuals covered by the Anti-Terrorism Law who belonged to terrorist organizations but did not commit any crimes against Iraqis. Therefore, there must be a distinction between these cases."

Al-Saadi pointed out that "there are demands for further amendments to the General Amnesty Law, and these amendments will come after the law is included in the agenda and the first reading is completed."