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IRAQ. LAWMAKER COULD BE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR VISITING ISRAEL
September 22, 2008: an Iraqi lawmaker who has made two trips to Israel and advocates peaceful relations with the Jewish state had his parliamentary immunity lifted last week and now could face a death sentence if Baghdad chooses to prosecute him.
Mithal al-Alusi visited Israel for the second time last week to attend a conference at the International Institute for Counterterrorism in Herzliya. News of the trip caused a political storm resulting in the Iraqi parliament overwhelmingly voting to strip Alusi of his immunity.
Without his parliamentary immunity, Alusi can now be prosecuted for visiting the Jewish state, a crime punishable by death under a decades-old law.
Alusi's first visit to Israel came in 2005 and led to an assassination attempt that left his two sons dead. (Sources: Israeltoday.co.il, 22/09/2008)
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