Foreign Ministry denies diplomats linked to airport exam booklet case

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday denied claims circulating on social media that diplomats or their family members were connected to a case involving examination booklets allegedly prepared for smuggling out of the country.

The ministry said online information about the case, including names, job titles and family connections, was inaccurate. It rejected as “completely false” a report alleging that a “consul general” by a named individual worked at Iraq’s embassy in Ukraine, saying no staff member there bears that name or holds that position. It also dismissed as “baseless” claims that the “granddaughter of an Iraqi ambassador” had graduated through the alleged mechanism, saying naming diplomats’ relatives without evidence “constitutes an offense against the persons concerned and misleads public opinion.”

Addressing suggestions that diplomatic missions oversee Iraqi schools abroad, the ministry said such schools are managed by the Education Ministry and that the Foreign Ministry plays no role in running them or supervising their examinations. It said it respects “freedom of expression and responsible journalism” but urged media and social media users to verify information through official sources, adding that it reserves the right to take legal action against anyone deliberately spreading false claims targeting its employees or the diplomatic institution.

The statement follows an investigation launched after security authorities at Baghdad International Airport intercepted a traveler carrying sixth preparatory examination materials. A customs seizure report said authorities found 51 blank examination booklets, seven allegedly containing completed answers, three blue examination booklets, two student fingerprint forms, seven absentee student forms and eight sealing stickers marked as prohibited from circulation outside the Education Ministry.

Education Minister Abdul Karim al-Abtan ordered an “immediate and urgent investigation” after an emergency meeting, and the ministry said public examinations were proceeding under “solid regulations and strict security and technical measures.” On June 11, parliament’s Education Committee member Haider al-Mutairi described the case as “another resounding crime” affecting the integrity of Iraq’s education system, saying 61 booklets had been prepared for smuggling, including seven completed answer booklets belonging to a student he described as a “VIP.”