Baghdad Court Seeks to Lift Immunity of Second Iraqi Lawmaker Over Extortion Allegations

Peregraf- A court in Baghdad has requested that Iraq's parliament lift the immunity of lawmaker Hassan Qasim al-Khafaji, making him the second member of parliament in recent weeks to face potential prosecution on extortion-related charges.

The Baghdad/Karkh Court of Appeal submitted the request to the Council of Representatives (CoR) on Sunday, alleging that al-Khafaji sought financial and commercial benefits from a private individual in exchange for facilitating the completion of a public service project.

According to court documents, al-Khafaji allegedly demanded that the complainant transfer ownership of 40 percent of a residential development project to him and pay an additional $500,000. The court document states that the lawmaker allegedly made these demands despite having no official authority or legal mandate over the project. 

Al-Khafaji recently withdrew from the Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC), a parliamentary bloc founded by former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani.

Under Iraqi law, members of parliament enjoy legal immunity while serving in office, and courts must request parliamentary approval before pursuing certain legal proceedings against them.

The case is the second recent instance in which Iraqi judicial authorities have sought the removal of a lawmaker's immunity over extortion allegations.

Earlier, the Baghdad/Karkh Court of Appeal requested the lifting of immunity for Mohamed al-Karbouli, a member of the Azm Alliance, accusing him of extortion and demanding $50,000 from a complainant.

The requests come amid growing public scrutiny of corruption and abuse-of-office allegations in Iraq, where anti-corruption efforts have remained a central challenge for successive governments despite repeated reform pledges.

Parliament has not yet announced whether it will act on either request.