SULAIMANI (ESTA) — An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced 18 police officers to up to three years in jail for failing to prevent protesters from storming and setting fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, according to security officials.
Protesters supporting influential Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr torched the embassy on July 20, following an incident in which an Iraqi refugee based in Stockholm desecrated the Quran.
The internal security forces court in Baghdad found the officers guilty of neglecting their duties, which allowed the embassy attack, according to a verdict copy seen by AFP.
Of the convicted officers, eight received three-year sentences, seven were sentenced to two years and three months, and three were given 18-month sentences, said an interior ministry official who attended the hearing and authenticated the text.
Some officers were permanently barred from the force, the verdict stated.
The officers, including members of the diplomatic protection forces, have the option to appeal the ruling.
(Esta Media Network/AFP)
