Iraqi supreme court reviews charges against first parliamentary session

Layal Shakir

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s top court on Tuesday resumed the adjourned session to review the cases filed against the first parliamentary meeting which erupted into chaos earlier in January.

The Federal Supreme Court began reviewing the cases filed against the first parliamentary session in the morning, state media reported.

The court rejected the lawsuit filed against the session on Tuesday afternoon. 

Leader of the Sadrist bloc Muqtada al-Sadr took to Twitter following the court's decision، saying Iraq's judiciary "proved its integrity and independence." 

The court adjourned the session last week after the plaintiff claimed MP Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who was chairing the legislature’s session on January 9, was assaulted before being evacuated from the parliamentary hall.

However, the plaintiff failed to provide a medical report at court.

The Iraqi parliament held its first session almost three months after October’s early election.

The legislative session erupted into disorder after the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite factions that continue to object to the election results, submitted a paper claiming they, rather than the Sadrist Movement, now hold the biggest parliamentary bloc with 88 seats, MPs from the scene told Rudaw. Mashhadani was evacuated from the hall after falling ill following the flare-up of tensions and arguments between the blocs.

The hearing came after the Federal Court on January 13 suspended the work of the newly-elected parliamentary speaker and his two deputies following a lawsuit against their election process as the parliament attempts to form a new government and elect the next president of Iraq.

Updated at 3:19 pm