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Iraq’s fugitive VP Hashemi urges Iraqis to oppose Maliki | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi on Monday urged Iraqis to oppose Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who he accused of stoking sectarian tensions, a day after a Baghdad court sentenced him to death in absentia.

Hashemi, a senior Sunni politician, fled Iraq earlier this year after authorities sought his arrest on charges he ran a deathsquad. He accused Maliki of a politicial witch-hunt and refused to stand trial in a court he said was biased.

“My people, don’t give Maliki and those who stand behind him the chance,” Hashemi told reporters in Turkey. “They want to make this a sectarian strife. Oppose his conspiracies and provocation calmly… People should not stay silent on the unprecedented oppression in Iraq.”