Ayat Seestani issues fatwa about Baath party members

By: Hamoud Kufi

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Al-Zaman rag has published in its Monday editions a religious ruling, or fatwa, issued by Ayatullah Ali As-Seestani in which he has forbidden the murder of former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba’ath party.

“It is forbidden to take the initiative and punish those who played a direct role in the murder of innocents because punishment is the resort of the victim's family after confirmation of the crime by religious court,” the paper quoted Ayatullah As-Seestani as saying in his fatwa.

The Ayatullah also prohibited the killing of those who wrote reports against believers leading to their execution plus those agents who had been forced to cooperate with the former secret service under threat and pressure.

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