Three jailed for 10 years for forging judiciary seals on marriage and divorce contracts

BAGHDAD — The Rusafa Criminal Court sentenced three people to 10 years in prison for using forged seals of the Supreme Judicial Council to produce marriage and divorce contracts and process unauthorised transactions, the judiciary said. Two others received a year each for failing to report it.

It is the latest case exploiting the judiciary’s name. A man was convicted in August of posing as a member of Chief Justice Faiq Zaidan’s office and the prime minister’s anti-corruption committee to extort officials in Najaf, and the council warned in January that people were impersonating Zaidan’s staff. On July 3 the judge in the case against former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili warned that people were falsely telling business owners their names had come up in that inquiry.