Iraqi PM to release 2,500 prisoners
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-06 19:13
Embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Tuesday he would
release 2,500 prisoners with no clear evidence against them or who were
mistakenly detained, in a move to help reach "national reconciliation."
Iraqi soldiers escort blindfolded suspected
insurgents after a raid in Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad, June 3, 2006.
[Reuters] |
"We hope they will abide by not violently objecting to the political process.
This is a strong move which will encourage others," he said, in a clear
reference to the minority Sunni community, which forms the backbone of the
insurgency against his U.S.-backed government.
He said the prisoners would be released from U.S.-run detention centres and
Iraqi custody.
Maliki said a committee was being formed to review the status of all
prisoners in Iraq but at the same time he would use force against those who
continued violent acts.
"Those who will be released will be people who are not Saddam Hussein
loyalists or terrorists or anyone who has Iraqi blood on their hands," he said
in a televised press conference.
"Those who committed killings or bombings will not be released and they will
be banned from being released."
Maliki said no nominees for the posts of interior and defense ministers were
presented to parliament on Sunday as scheduled because there was not a
sufficient number of assembly members present for a vote.
Government officials said Maliki's rivals in his own Shi'ite Alliance blocked
him.
The two crucial security posts have been vacant since his government was
sworn in on May 20. Maliki did not set a date for naming defense or interior
ministers.
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