Iraqi Court: Prison Terms for Politicians and Oil Official

An Iraqi court sentenced Muthanna al-Samarrai and Ziad al-Janabi to prison on Thursday for a corruption case involving state-owned oil companies. The court also handed an eight-year sentence to Hussein Talib, the former head of the Oil Products Distribution Company. Officials announced the rulings for the two politicians on Thursday, while Talib's sentence was announced the same day after his trial concluded Wednesday.

Al-Samarrai leads the Azm Alliance, a Sunni party that holds 15 of the 329 seats in Iraq's parliament. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that he received a six-year prison term. Ziad al-Janabi, a lawmaker from the Tashree party, was sentenced to five years. The court found that both politicians benefited from contracts with the North and South Refineries Companies. These state entities process crude oil and produce petroleum derivatives.

The agency stated that the lawmakers allegedly took commissions to help companies linked to them win those contracts. The court ordered al-Samarrai to repay 30 billion Iraqi dinars, which is about $19.8 million. Al-Janabi must repay 4 billion dinars, or roughly $2.6 million. Neither political party responded immediately to requests for comment on the sentences.

Hussein Talib was sentenced in a related case for intervening in contract awards for personal gain. The court ordered him to repay 55 billion dinars, approximately $36.3 million. His eight-year sentence was finalized on Wednesday but made public on Thursday.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has pledged to fight corruption since taking office earlier this year. In June, police arrested dozens of officials on similar charges. Those arrests included members of the Shiite political bloc led by former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and others from the Azm Alliance.

On the same day, an Iraqi criminal court sentenced three French nationals to life in prison. The charges involved terrorism and membership in the Islamic State. Seven other French citizens received similar sentences on Tuesday. These defendants were part of a group of 47 French citizens accused of IS ties. They were held in Syria and transferred to Iraq for trial last year.