An Iraqi former bank manager arbitrarily detained and tortured in anti-corruption context
Name(s):
Adel Attia Khudair
Status:
Free
Year of birth:
1961
Profession:
Former acting general manager of Agricultural Bank
Nationality:
Iraqi
Date of arrest:
Since January 15, 2020, Adel Attia Khudair was working as acting General Manager before being arrested on September 7, 2020. The arrest was conducted by members of the Anti-Corruption Committee established on the basis of Executive Order No. 29, also known as “Diwaniya Committee No. 29” (Committee No. 29). Khudair was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and a ten million Dinar fine, following trials that did not respect due process guarantees. He notably alleged that he had been subjected to torture while being secretly detained. He was held at Tasferat al-Rusafa prison until his release, while the UN Working Group stated that his detention was arbitrary.
Adel Attia Khudair held various high level positions in the Agricultural Bank as an Assistant General Manager. On September 6, 2020, he took part in a demonstration against the nomination of Rashad Al-Daini as the Bank’s new general manager after accusations of corruption in public institutions had surfaced against him.
On September 7, 2020, Lieutenant Abu Ragheef summoned ten employees of the Agricultural Bank, including Khudair and his son Raad, to his office in the Green Zone, where they were all arrested without arrest warrants.
On September 13, 2020, Khudair’s family reported their disappearances to Bab Al Moatham police station in Baghdad and to the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR)’s office in Baghdad, but to no avail. It was only on September 17, 2020 that their family discovered that Khudair and his son Raad had been arrested alongside ten other employees on accusations of corruption.
Raad was eventually released from the Green Zone on September 29, 2020. However, he was arrested again on November 2, 2020 when he was summoned to the Green Zone to be presented as a witness to one of the bank's transactions. Raad was then detained with his father and subjected to an enforced disappearance in Baghdad Airport Prison until his release on November 26, 2020.
Adel Khudair was tortured during his detention in Bagdad Airport prison in November 2020. He was subjected to beatings, hanging and electric shocks to his sensitive body parts. Khudair signed the confession under duress.
He was not allowed to receive visits until the beginning of January 2021. During the first visit, his family noticed that he was wearing the same uniform in which he had gone to work, showing that he had not changed or received additional clothes.
On February 9, 2021, Khudair was sentenced, along with four other defendants, by the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court in Karkh to six years’ imprisonment and to a fine of 10 million Iraqi Dinars. On that day, he was transferred to Tasferat Al-Rusafa prison, where he is currently detained until now.
In February, March and April 2021, Khudair’s lawyer requested the annulment of the sentence issued against him due to the lack of evidence, complainants, and witnesses.
On October 13, 2021, the Federal Court of Cassation ordered a re-trial.
On March 2, 2022, the Federal Court announced the dissolution of Committee No. 29 as the basis for its establishment was unconstitutional.
On June 15, 2022, after the retrial, the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court in Karkh reduced Adel Khudair and the remaining four defendants’ sentences to three years’ imprisonment and ten million Dinars fines. Khudair’s lawyer appealed his sentence in due time.
On November 9, 2022, the second chamber of the Federal Court of Cassation confirmed the sentence issued on June 15, 2022.
On December 24, 2022, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office announced that the office had referred 3000 complaints of violations committed by Committee No. 29 to the Public Prosecutor. Khudair’s lawyer informed his family that one of the officers who had tortured Khudair appeared among the individuals referred to the court for accusations of torture. A committee from the Prime Minister’s Office involved in the investigation of such violations had interviewed Khudair in prison in November 2022. This officer was referred to the Karkh Criminal Court.
On March 7, 2023, MENA Rights Group seized the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) asking the UN experts to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention.
On May 11, 2023, Khudair was released after he finished the term of his sentence.
On August 28, 2023, the WGAD adopted the Opinion that Khudair’s detention is arbitrary and urged Iraqi authorities to remedy his situation.
| Name(s): |
Adel Attia Khudair
|
| Status: |
Free
|
| Year of birth: |
1961
|
| Profession: |
Former acting general manager of Agricultural Bank
|
| Nationality: |
Iraqi
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Adel Attia Khudair held various high level positions in the Agricultural Bank as an Assistant General Manager. On September 6, 2020, he took part in a demonstration against the nomination of Rashad Al-Daini as the Bank’s new general manager after accusations of corruption in public institutions had surfaced against him.
On September 7, 2020, Lieutenant Abu Ragheef summoned ten employees of the Agricultural Bank, including Khudair and his son Raad, to his office in the Green Zone, where they were all arrested without arrest warrants.
On September 13, 2020, Khudair’s family reported their disappearances to Bab Al Moatham police station in Baghdad and to the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR)’s office in Baghdad, but to no avail. It was only on September 17, 2020 that their family discovered that Khudair and his son Raad had been arrested alongside ten other employees on accusations of corruption.
Raad was eventually released from the Green Zone on September 29, 2020. However, he was arrested again on November 2, 2020 when he was summoned to the Green Zone to be presented as a witness to one of the bank's transactions. Raad was then detained with his father and subjected to an enforced disappearance in Baghdad Airport Prison until his release on November 26, 2020.
Adel Khudair was tortured during his detention in Bagdad Airport prison in November 2020. He was subjected to beatings, hanging and electric shocks to his sensitive body parts. Khudair signed the confession under duress.
He was not allowed to receive visits until the beginning of January 2021. During the first visit, his family noticed that he was wearing the same uniform in which he had gone to work, showing that he had not changed or received additional clothes.
On February 9, 2021, Khudair was sentenced, along with four other defendants, by the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court in Karkh to six years’ imprisonment and to a fine of 10 million Iraqi Dinars. On that day, he was transferred to Tasferat Al-Rusafa prison, where he is currently detained until now.
In February, March and April 2021, Khudair’s lawyer requested the annulment of the sentence issued against him due to the lack of evidence, complainants, and witnesses.
On October 13, 2021, the Federal Court of Cassation ordered a re-trial.
On March 2, 2022, the Federal Court announced the dissolution of Committee No. 29 as the basis for its establishment was unconstitutional.
On June 15, 2022, after the retrial, the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court in Karkh reduced Adel Khudair and the remaining four defendants’ sentences to three years’ imprisonment and ten million Dinars fines. Khudair’s lawyer appealed his sentence in due time.
On November 9, 2022, the second chamber of the Federal Court of Cassation confirmed the sentence issued on June 15, 2022.
On December 24, 2022, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office announced that the office had referred 3000 complaints of violations committed by Committee No. 29 to the Public Prosecutor. Khudair’s lawyer informed his family that one of the officers who had tortured Khudair appeared among the individuals referred to the court for accusations of torture. A committee from the Prime Minister’s Office involved in the investigation of such violations had interviewed Khudair in prison in November 2022. This officer was referred to the Karkh Criminal Court.
On March 7, 2023, MENA Rights Group seized the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) asking the UN experts to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention.
On May 11, 2023, Khudair was released after he finished the term of his sentence.
On August 28, 2023, the WGAD adopted the Opinion that Khudair’s detention is arbitrary and urged Iraqi authorities to remedy his situation.