Vengeance for Iraqi who visited Israel
Former Iraqi culture minister sentenced to death by hanging for involvement in killing of parliament member Mithal al-Alusi's two sons after his visit to Israel
In 2004, shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi parliament member Mithal al-Alusi came to Israel at the invitation of the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya. Al-Alusi, a secular Sunni politician, became the unofficial star of an IDC-hosted international conference.
In an interview to Yedioth Ahranoth in 2004, al-Alusi remarked, "I know many Iraqis support my decision to come with tiding of peace to Israel."
At this time of his visit, al-Alusi's family began receiving threats and went into hiding in order to avoid assassination attempts. Five months after al-Alusi returned to Iraq, two anonymous gunmen shot down his two sons (aged 22 and 30) outside their home, shouting "this is a punishment for your visit to Israel."
About a year ago, two Sunnis were arrested on suspicion of committing the crime and admitted to having been paid $500 each by Iraq's former culture minister, Asaad al-Hashemi, to take out al Alusi's sons. Al-Hashemi fled to Syria pursuant to their arrest and is thought to be living there under a false identity.
On Friday, a Baghdad court found al-Hashemi responsible in absentia for the death of al-Alusi's sons. He has been sentenced to death by hanging, said Abdul Satar Birqadr, a spokesman for Iraq's High Judicial Council.
Al-Alusi and his supporters have been pushing the Iraqi and Syrian governments to extradite al-Hashemi in order to implement the sentencing.
Friends that al-Alusi made while in Israel sent him electronic messages of support over the weekend, stating "we continue to support you and your family during this time and pray that the killer will be hung to death."
