Sunni bloc fears judicial targeting

BAGHDAD, June 16 (UPI) -- A move by the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council to revoke immunity for lawmakers is politically motivated, a Sunni member of Parliament said Monday.

The Judicial Council is considering the move for 17 Iraqi lawmakers from several political parties. Various media reports suggest the measure is targeting the former head of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, Adnan al-Dulaimi, who is a major voice against Iranian influence in Iraq.

Abdel Kareem al-Samarai with the Accordance Front said the Judicial Council lacks the authority to make such a move, adding it would turn the Iraqi Parliament into "a playground" for settling political scores, Voices of Iraq reported Monday.

"The demand is based on false grounds and politically motivated," Samarai said.

The Accordance Front withdrew from the Cabinet over a series of political disputes in August.

In related political developments, a lawmaker with the Sadrist Movement, the party loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, said the bloc would back any political party in the pending provincial elections in October that shared its political ideology.

"The Sadrist movement does not have a slate for the provincial council elections. We are waiting for the announcement of slates to examine all agendas and support those who can fulfill our ambitions," said Sadrist lawmaker Lawaa Samisem.