ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A sermon delivered on behalf of prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr at the Great Kufa Mosque in Najaf province on Friday praised recent anti-corruption crackdowns and urged supporters to back Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi amid the ongoing campaign known as Operation Dawn.
“We have been and remain the reform advocates,” the sermon said, emphasizing that “we have nothing in common with the corrupt, not even our love for [Imam] Hussein."
The cleric asked his supporters to “rise up in a peaceful stand in support of reform and the reform soldier, Brother al-Zaidi, may God protect him.”
Iraq launched a large-scale anti-corruption campaign on Sunday known as Operation Dawn, an initiative under Iraq Prime Minister Zaidi in coordination with Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity. To date, the operation has resulted in the arrests of a growing number of Iraqi politicians and government employees and has led to the recovery of tens of millions of dollars in stolen public assets.
“Let us strengthen his resolve, and let us discourage the corrupt who are trying to pressure him and dissuade him from the courageous and fruitful raids,” Sadr proclaimed, noting that the campaign has “terrified and delighted many” on both a national and international scale.
The responsibility of the corruption lies on those who are corrupt personally, his sermon stated.
The Iraqi parliament demanded on Thursday that the government open investigations into seven major corruption files, following a decision to lift parliamentary immunity for several lawmakers.
The request follows after renowned Iraqi judge and legal advisor to Prime Minister Zaidi, Munir Haddad, stated on Wednesday that over $2 trillion have been looted from Iraq since 2003.
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