Iraq's fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and some of his bodyguards have been charged with murdering six judges and a series of other killings, a judiciary spokesman said on Monday.
Hashemi, one of Iraq's top Sunni Muslim politicians, fled Baghdad in December when the Shi'ite-led central government issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of running death squads.
He is now in Istanbul in Turkey and is not expected to attend the trial when it begins on Thursday.
The story includes the attempt to arrest Hashemi as one of the things that is stressing sectarian relations. But doesn't that assume Hashemi is innocent? If Hashemi is guilty as charged, that is what is stressing sectarian relations. Being Sunni Arab should not be a shield against killing others.
So as I've argued from the beginning, let's support efforts to achieve justice in this case. If Hashemi is innocent, he should go free. If Hashemi is guilty, he should be punished. Could Hashemi participate in the Baghdad trial remotely from Istanbul?
Justice should not harm the peace.
