BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities on Friday freed most of the approximately two dozen security officers detained last week for allegedly aiding insurgents and remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, two Interior Ministry officials said.
The officials said at least 22 of the officers had been released and the rest should be let go by Saturday morning. The detainees were freed after Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani returned to Baghdad from abroad and challenged the charges, said the officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The case provided a window into the intense political differences in Iraq even among fellow Shiite Muslims. Although some Shiite lawmakers and security commanders said they thought the accused men might have helped facilitate terrorist attacks, they rejected reports that the group had been hatching a coup attempt — a grave worry among the ruling Shiite coalition.
The arrests also raised fears among some lawmakers that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was using authoritarian tactics reminiscent of Hussein’s regime to reinforce its power and thwart rivals.
Shortly after his arrival home, al-Bolani convened a news conference Friday and denounced the arrests.
“This story . . . is a fabricated one,” al-Bolani said of allegations against the men. “It is not based on any facts, security or intelligence.”
The harsh words by al-Bolani also underscored the strains within the country’s ruling Shiite elite, who rarely air their dirty laundry in public.
“This is for political reasons,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “You know the country is approaching provincial elections, so there is a relation to the political process.”
Al-Bolani has his own movement, the Iraqi Constitutional Party, which is running against al-Maliki’s Dawa Party and its coalition partner, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, in provincial contests in the Shiite-dominated south.
Meanwhile, a judge announced a probe Friday into the beating and bruising of an Iraqi journalist’s face moments after he hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush and said investigators destroyed the shoes in their search for explosives.
The statement to The Associated Press by Dhia al-Kinani, the investigating judge, was the first official word that Muntadhar al-Zeidi was hurt after his outburst at a news conference by Bush and al-Maliki. According to the judge, al-Zeidi suffered a bruised face and eyes.
Al-Zeidi has been in custody since the Dec. 14 attack and hasn’t been seen since by relatives or a lawyer.
One of his brothers, Uday, alleged Friday that the isolation indicates he was abused.
“Until now, neither an attorney nor anyone from his family has seen him, and this is clear evidence that Muntadhar was under intense torture,” he said at a demonstration by about 20 family members just outside the Green Zone.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
