New charges filed against Irish citizen in Iraq

Anti-corruption activist Yasser Eljuboori with his wife Laura Wickham. Picture: Laura Wickham

An Irish citizen who was detained in Iraq has been informed that he now faces two new charges and is unable to leave the country after being told last week that all charges against him have been dropped.

Yasser Eljuboori, 37, was held by police in Baghdad since he attempted to board a flight out of the Iraqi capital on Monday. He had spent a week in Iraq visiting his ill mother.

Mr Eljuboori, an anti-corruption activist, has frequently criticised corruption in the government of Iraq and was told he was being held due to defamation against political leaders.

His legal team was informed that the Iraqi prime minister had filed the charges against Mr Eljuboori under article 226 of the country's penal code which criminalises any public insults against authorities or officials.

On Thursday, Mr Eljuboori appeared in court in Baghdad where charges against him were dropped. He was subsequently released on bail. However, authorities retained his Irish passport.

According to the London-based law firm Doughty Street Chambers, Iraqi authorities said that “two or three days of paperwork” must be completed before he is permitted to leave the country and return to his family in Dublin.

However, at a court hearing on Sunday, Mr Eljuboori's legal team was informed that two additional charges had been filed against him concerning social media posts.

Doughty Street Chambers said Mr Eljuboori attended court to collect his passport when he learned of the new charges and is now once again being prevented from leaving the country.

The legal team made "urgent representations" to Iraqi authorities, and learned that the complainants, the Chair of the National Investment Commission and the Mayor of Baghdad, no longer wish to proceed with the charges.

Mr Eljuboori and his domestic lawyers will be before the courts again on Tuesday seeking the dismissal of the new charges and the return of his passport to allow him to fly home.

'A cruel game'

Speaking this morning from her home in Balgriffin, Dublin, Mr Eluboori’s wife, Laura Wickham, said it "feels like a cruel game".

“The past week has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me: the initial confusion at Yasser’s disappearance; the terror as I learned the news of his arrest, detention, and criminal charges brought against him by the Prime Minister; the relief when he was released; and now despair at these latest developments."

"Our children miss their dad and I miss my husband. I call on the Iraqi authorities to allow Yasser to return home. Every additional day and hour that he spends in Baghdad puts him at risk of further bogus charges."

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, a London-based Irish barrister, said her client is "being targeted by multiple public officials for his campaigning work highlighting corruption in Iraq".

"It is particularly cruel that Mr Eljuboori was informed that all charges were dropped and that he would be going home within days, when in fact new charges were being prepared behind the scenes which would keep him trapped in Baghdad, unable to return home to his family," she said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said they are "naturally very disappointed" that Mr Eljuboori was not able to return to Ireland and reunite with his family but continue to provide consular assistance.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, they said Micheál Martin, the foreign affairs minister, has been in direct contact with the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Iraq to "seek clarity on Mr Eljuboori's situation".

"The Tánaiste has been in regular contact with the family over the weekend and fully appreciates their deep distress that Mr Eljuboori was not able to depart as had been expected and planned for," the spokesperson added.