By Reuters
The United States imposed sanctions on two Iraqi militia leaders and two former Iraqi provincial governors it accused of human rights abuses and corruption, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday.
The United States imposed sanctions on two Iraqi militia leaders and two former Iraqi provincial governors it accused of human rights abuses and corruption, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday.
The
sanctions target militia leaders Rayan al-Kildani and Waad Qado, and
former governors Nawfal Hammadi al-Sultan and Ahmed al-Jubouri, the
Treasury said in a statement.
“We will continue to hold
accountable persons associated with serious human rights abuse,
including persecution of religious minorities, and corrupt officials who
exploit their positions of public trust to line their pockets and hoard
power at the expense of their citizens,” Sigal Mandelker, Treasury
under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said.
The
Treasury said many of the actions that prompted the sanctions occurred
in “areas where persecuted religious communities are struggling to
recover from the horrors inflicted on them” by Islamic State, the
militant group that controlled parts of Iraq for several years.
The
Treasury said Kildani is the leader of the 50th Brigade militia and is
shown cutting off the ear of a handcuffed detainee in a video
circulating in Iraq last year.
It said Qado is the leader of the 30th Brigade militia which engaged in extortion, illegal arrests, and kidnappings.
Sultan
and Jubouri were designated for being engaged in corruption, including
the misappropriation of state assets, and other misdeeds, the Treasury
said.
Iraq in March issued a warrant for the arrest of Sultan, the former
governor of Nineveh province, on corruption charges after at least 90
people were killed in a ferry accident in the provincial capital Mosul.
As
a result of the designation, any property the four persons hold in the
United States would be blocked and U.S. persons are barred from business
dealings with them.
Read also:
Huffington Post
May 23, 2018
A Mostly Non-Christian Militia Won 2 Of Iraqi Christians’ Parliamentary Seats. Now Christians Want Trump To Intervene.
Huffington Post
May 23, 2018
