Iraqi integrity commission detains Amara prison food committee, municipal land officials

BAGHDAD – The Federal Commission of Integrity on Sunday announced the arrest of members of the internal feeding committee at Amara Central Prison and the head of the Land Division at the municipality, citing violations and the illegal distribution of properties.

The Federal Integrity Commission stated in a statement provided to 964media, “Arrest warrants have been executed against the internal feeding committee at the department of Amara Central Prison and an official at the Amara Municipality Directorate for deliberately causing harm to the finances and interests of their respective institutions.”

The Government Media and Communication Office detailed, “The arrest warrant for one member of the internal feeding committee at the department of Amara Central Prison was executed, while the remaining members surrendered themselves to the responsible authorities.” They were subsequently presented before the competent investigative judge, who “decided to detain them,” following the identification of several violations by the committee by the field team of the Maysan Investigation Office. This was after “auditing the meal items provided to the inmates and detainees, ensuring their compliance with the contractual terms.”

Moreover, the office confirmed the arrest of “the head of the Land Division at the Amara Municipality Directorate, involved in the allocation of five plots of land to several employees, against regulations and instructions, despite those plots having previously been allocated to other employees.” The judge specialized in the case has ordered the suspect’s detention “under Article 340 of the Penal Code.”

The investigation further revealed that “the Investment Division at the directorate had processed a transaction for the establishment of a fuel station in the old Al-Hussein district and signed the lease contract for the investment opportunity (fuel station) without obtaining approval from the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works.” The issue has been brought before the judiciary “to take appropriate legal actions and identify the individuals responsible for these discrepancies.”