Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Escaped former minister of electricity arrives in Jordan
A former Iraqi Cabinet minister who escaped from a Baghdad prison this month has arrived in Jordan on a U.S. plane, Jordan's prime minister said Tuesday. Ayham al-Samaraie, a former minister of electricity with dual U.S. and Iraqi citizenship, had been serving time for corruption when he escaped mid-December. Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit told reporters Tuesday that al-Samaraie "arrived in Amman as an American and on an American plane," an apparent reference to a U.S. military plane. He did not elaborate on the former official's escape.
"Jordan did not receive any demand from the Iraqi authorities" for al-Samaraie's extradition, al-Bakhit said. Lou Fintor, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said the U.S. government was not involved in al-Samaraie's escape "in any way." He also denied in "unequivocal terms" the claim that al-Samaraie flew out of Iraq on an American plane.
"Jordan did not receive any demand from the Iraqi authorities" for al-Samaraie's extradition, al-Bakhit said. Lou Fintor, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said the U.S. government was not involved in al-Samaraie's escape "in any way." He also denied in "unequivocal terms" the claim that al-Samaraie flew out of Iraq on an American plane.
Fintor said U.S. was supporting the Iraqi government's investigation into al-Samaraie's escape. He declined to say whether al-Samaraie, who has a home in the Chicago area, would be allowed to return to the United States.
In 2003, al-Samaraie became a member of the transitional Iraqi government that was set up after U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. He was detained in August, convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years imprisonment. The charges concerned an estimated $2 billion in missing funds for contracts on rebuilding Iraq's electrical infrastructure.
On Dec. 19, al-Samaraie called the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times and said that a "multinational" group had helped him escape from a police station inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. He gloated about the escape, saying he got away "the Chicago way", a reference to the 1987 film about Al Capone called "The Untouchables." Al-Samaraie told the Times he had managed to leave Iraq on a flight from Baghdad International Airport. He said it had been easy to board a plane, saying "any Iraqi can do it."
He also derided Iraqi and U.S. officials in the interview. "Those suckers who are sitting in the Green Zone, they cannot go out and see the people they are governing?" he was quoted as saying. "This is a joke." It was al-Samaraie's second escape from Iraqi custody. He also managed to flee a few days after his October conviction, when Iraqi officials caught him at the Baghdad airport with a Chinese passport.
In 2003, al-Samaraie became a member of the transitional Iraqi government that was set up after U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. He was detained in August, convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years imprisonment. The charges concerned an estimated $2 billion in missing funds for contracts on rebuilding Iraq's electrical infrastructure.
On Dec. 19, al-Samaraie called the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times and said that a "multinational" group had helped him escape from a police station inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. He gloated about the escape, saying he got away "the Chicago way", a reference to the 1987 film about Al Capone called "The Untouchables." Al-Samaraie told the Times he had managed to leave Iraq on a flight from Baghdad International Airport. He said it had been easy to board a plane, saying "any Iraqi can do it."
He also derided Iraqi and U.S. officials in the interview. "Those suckers who are sitting in the Green Zone, they cannot go out and see the people they are governing?" he was quoted as saying. "This is a joke." It was al-Samaraie's second escape from Iraqi custody. He also managed to flee a few days after his October conviction, when Iraqi officials caught him at the Baghdad airport with a Chinese passport.
