Iraqi court grants AP photog Bilal Hussein amnesty on terror charges
posted at 3:21 pm on April 9, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Not guilty? Not quite:
A decision by a four-judge panel said Hussein’s case falls under a new amnesty law. It ordered Iraqi courts to “cease legal proceedings” and ruled that Hussein should be “immediately” released unless other accusations are pending…
In February, however, parliament approved a law providing amnesty to those held for insurgency-related offenses — including detainees such as Hussein who have never been convicted.
The committee from the Iraqi Federal Appeals Court ruled Monday that allegations against Hussein were covered by the Anti-Terrorist Law and were subject to the amnesty law.
It’s still unclear whether he’ll be released, as the military insists it has authority under the UN mandate to hold him notwithstanding the order and there’s still an allegation pending against him regarding the charming photo you’ll find at the end of this post. The boss has owned this story from the beginning and hints cryptically in her latest that there’s plenty more to come. I’ll bet: The last time the military addressed its suspicions of him, it did not mince words. Stay tuned.
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The Iraqis must be using our courts as a model for their own.
Les in NC on April 9, 2008 at 3:25 PM
Great, now we’ll get good photo’s of the ambush of American’s again. The Terrorist PR campaign was really stuck in the mud. Of course, the best idea would be to give him one of those tracking ankle things, and then you’ll know whenever you’re about to be attacked when the proximity alert goes off.
Snake307 on April 9, 2008 at 3:27 PM
Who says there isn’t any progress being made in Iraq? Shoot their courts are just as good as the ones in England and Germany who also have seen fit to release terror suspects. Maybe they will send them to one of those Saudi reindoctination camps that have been so wildly successful.
Just A Grunt on April 9, 2008 at 3:29 PM
Iraq is doing a great job learning from USA. Be a nation of laws, just don’t enforce them.
Wade on April 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM
I wonder what they will think when they get the evidence from the US on Bial.
Will they decide he is still innocent or will they change thier minds. Anyone want to wage a guess?
I say they say he is innocent… and back to the terrorist taking photographs, he goes.
upinak on April 9, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Hussein? I thought that name was off limits until after the election.
Must be a fine Irish/Methodist with a fine name like that.
Hening on April 9, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Key here is that under the current UN mandate, we only have that legal cover under next year….
Romeo13 on April 9, 2008 at 3:34 PM
I’m sure that there’s a “penumbra” to be found in the Iraqi Constitution – one which allows the Iraqi “courts” to call for the killing of American troops.
Constitutional “penumbras” always result in death. Right, abortion lovers?
OhEssYouCowboys on April 9, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Iraq has courts? And a parliament? Listening to Carl Levin, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Dingy Harry Reid, etc. I would have never known it!
Brat on April 9, 2008 at 3:39 PM
Iraq has also become a nation of actors.
BL@KBIRD on April 9, 2008 at 3:57 PM
I bet the terrorists have missed their best sympathographer.
eeyore on April 9, 2008 at 4:21 PM
I say let the Iraqi’s make these decisions.
Best way to learn the lessons of unintended consequences……
Seven Percent Solution on April 9, 2008 at 4:52 PM
In a way, I agree with Seven Percent – let the Iraqis make these decisions. It IS what the dhimms have been shrieking about for years. It’s also what the Right and the administration have been saying – that the Iraqis must govern Iraq.
Certainly, we have the obligation to offer our advice on how odious the likely consequences of certain actions. Still, we must not shrink from being supportive of a nascent Iraqi government’s procedure and promulgated laws simply because we aren’t thrilled with the apparent immediate consequences of their actions.
As individually despicable, in manner and deed, many of the Iraqis subject to this law may be, and Bilal is certainly among them, some sort of blanket amnesty has been, overall, extremely beneficial in restoring normality to areas that have suffered through brutal periods of non-conventional warfare. Even with some glaring examples such as Bilal.
Still, Iraqis swept up either before, or during the early stages of the surge will be returned to an almost completely different environment than when they were detained. A population, and peers, drastically less compliant with, or supportive of, terroristic insurgency. Of those still hell bent, for whatever reason, on violent jihad, they’ll either be very quickly outed by their fellow Iraqis and back in custody, or they’ll present themselves for possible permanent elimination to the nearest military/police patrol. And considered a certain way, it does present exactly the challenge the Iraqi Army and Police are working to be able to take care of on their own; keeping the lid on things, and demonstrating that they can provide security and stability, will positively re-enforce both the police and military, as well as the general populace, that stability and normalcy are possible.
As that confidence grows, stability increases. As stability increases, economic activity recovers, and infrastructure improvements become widely noticeable, it becomes self re-enforcing, eventually reaching the point that Coalition troops are superfluous…
shudder Almost sounds like an exit strategy…
Wind Rider on April 9, 2008 at 6:15 PM
Can someone get a FOIA request in for the evidence in this case… now that it’s “closed”? I’d love to see the smug AP shove their foot in their mouths…. bastards
BadBrad on April 10, 2008 at 8:19 AM
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