“The Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) issued verdict of penalties by hanging against Tariq al-Hashimi and his son-in-law Ahmed Qahtan after finding them guilty in the case of bombing a KIA minibus among Shiite pilgrims on the major Shiite ritual of Ashura last year,” the spokesman of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Abdul-Sattar al-Biraqdar told reporters, according to Xinhua.

The court passed the sentence in absentia on al-Hashemi who is currently in Turkey.

Al-Hashemi and his aide and son-in-law Ahmed Qahtan received last Thursday the second death sentence on charges of instigating the killing of an interior ministry official.

Last September they were sentenced to death for their involvement in the killing of an Iraqi army officer and a lawyer.

Iraq’s Shiite-led government has accused al-Hashemi of being involved in 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks from 2005 to 2011 most of which were allegedly carried out by his bodyguards and other employees. Al-Hashemi has claimed that his bodyguards were likely tortured or otherwise coerced into testifying against him.

Interpol has also issued a “red notice” for al-Hashimi in May, “on suspicion of guiding and financing terrorist attacks in the country.” The notice calls on the 190 countries that belong to the international police organization to help locate and arrest him, at the request of the Iraqi authorities. No such action has been taken to arrest him since the notice was issued. Al-Hashimi is now living in Turkey. Before that, he lived in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and also traveled to Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the invitation of those governments.

Soon after U.S. troops fully withdrew from Iraq late last year, Iraq plunged into serious political problems as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sought to arrest his political rival Hashimi, a leading member of the Sunni-backed political bloc of Iraqia, over terror charges.

The court also tried his secretary and son-in-law Ahmed Qahtan in absentia and sentenced him to death.
 
Iraq’s Shiite-led government has accused al-Hashemi of being involved in 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks from 2005 to 2011 most of which were allegedly carried out by his bodyguards and other employees. Al-Hashemi has claimed that his bodyguards were likely tortured or otherwise coerced into testifying against him.

Interpol issued a “red notice” for al-Hashimi in May, “on suspicion of guiding and financing terrorist attacks in the country.” The notice calls on the 190 countries that belong to the international police organization to help locate and arrest him, at the request of the Iraqi authorities. No such action has been taken to arrest him since the notice was issued four months ago. Al-Hashimi is now living in Turkey.  Before that, he lived in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and also traveled to Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the invitation of those governments.

Meanwhile, suspected al-Qaeda fighters and other armed groups have killed at least 73 people in a wave of attacks in Iraq, accoridng to Al Jazeera.  

After the fall of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and the rise of Iraq’s Shi’ite majority to power, many Iraqi Sunnis feel they have been sidelined.

“The Red Notice for Al-Hashemi represents a regional an international alert to all of Interpol’s 190 member countries to seek their help in locating and arresting him, following the issue of a national arrest warrant by Iraq’s Judicial Investigative Authority as part of an investigation in which security forces seized bombing materials and arrested individuals,” according to INTERPOL.

Iraq’s VP was to tried in absentia in Baghdad  last thursday, but the trial was adjourned until May 10 as Hashemi and some of his guards were charged last week with killing six judges, as judicial spokesman Abdelsattar Bayraqdar put the overall number of accusations against the group at about 150, according to AFP.

Hashemi had previously offered to be tried  in the city of Kirkuk,northern Iraq, controlled by Sunnis and Kurds but vowed not to return to Baghdad to face the charges because he believes the courts are controlled by the Prime Minister, Maliki.

Iraqi authorities issued an arrest warrant for Hashemi in December after the US completed its pullout and he first sought refuge with Iraqi Kurds who refused to hand him over. He then fled to Turkey, after stops in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Hashemi who was last known to be in Turkey, said in a statement posted on his website early on Tuesday that he was awaiting a “political solution” to the standoff, Al Jazeera reported.

Hashemi said he was planning to return to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Tuesday but decided to delay his trip after appeals by unnamed political leaders, according to Al Arabiya.

Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble said in a statement that the Red Notice would “significantly restrict” Hashemi’s ability to travel and cross international borders.and cross international borders. It is a powerful tool that will help authorities around the world locate and arrest him.

“This case also clearly demonstrates the commitment of Iraqi authorities to work with the world police community via Interpol to apprehend individuals facing serious charges,” he said.

A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant. Many of Interpol’s member countries however, consider a Red Notice a valid request for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bilateral extradition treaty. In cases where arrests are made based on a Red Notice, these are made by national police officials in Interpol member countries.

Interpol cannot demand that any member country arrest the subject of a Red Notice, and an individual wanted for arrest should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

The scheduled trial of Iraq’s fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and several of his bodyguards over accusation of running a death squad has been postponed to next Thursday, Al Arabiya reported.

The trial was scheduled to take part on this Thursday. Hashemi has dismissed the charges as politically-motivated. Hashemi, is now in Turkey will not attend the court in Baghdad, having fled Iraq weeks ago.

Hashemi and some of his guards were on Monday charged with killing six judges, as judicial spokesman Abdelsattar Bayraqdar put the overall number of accusations against the group at about 150, according to AFP.

Hashemi has offered to be tried  in the city of Kirkuk,northern Iraq, controlled by Sunnis and Kurds but vowed not to return to Baghdad to face the charges because he believes the courts are controlled by the Prime Minister, Maliki.

Al-Hashemi then  fled to Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, which has its own security forces, and where officials have refused to hand him over to Baghdad, and has since traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – three nations that have tense relations with al-Maliki.

Many are awaiting  to see the evidence brought against al-Hashemi while Iraqi Authorities say that some bodyguards have confessed their cirmes.

Al-Hashemi, on the other hand,  says that the  bodyguards were tortured to extract confessions, and two died under torture – accusations that the government denies, accoridng to AP.

Al-Hashemi is a member of the Sunni-dominated Iraqiya political bloc, which won the most seats in the 2012 parliamentary election but was outmaneuvered in post-vote negotiations for the right to seat the new government.