BAGHDAD – Iraq's parliament has voted to strip the house speaker of immunity, paving way for an investigation of his actions following corruption charges raised by the defense minister last week.
Shiite lawmaker Ahmed al-Badri says that Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri asked for the vote on Tuesday so that he could defend himself against the charges. The same measure was approved for two other Sunni lawmakers.
During a questioning in parliament, Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told lawmakers that al-Jabouri, four sitting lawmakers, one former lawmaker and two parliamentary officials affiliated with the speaker had tried to persuade him to secure specific contracts and to reinstate employees fired due to corruption.
Since then, a travel ban was issued on those accused and an official investigation has been launched.
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