Iraq: Turkey confirms asylum for Hashemi

Turkey has confirmed the asylum offered to the Sunni Iraqi Vice President Tareq al- Hashemi, despite the death sentence decided yesterday by a court in Baghdad, according to press reports in Ankara. Hashemi, accused by Iraqui justice of having ordered several political assassinations, is one of the main rival of the Shiite premier Nouri al-Maliki, and since April he lives in Turkey with his family under the protection of Ankara authorities. Hurriyet reports that yesterday Iraqi Vice President has met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu who confirmed, according to the newspaper, "that he can stay as long as he wishes ". Turkey has also recently rejected calls for extradition from Iraq. The "Hashemi case"' has further strained in recent months the already difficult relations between the Iraqi Shiite premier and his colleague,the Turkish Muslim nationalist Recip Tayyip Erdogan. Today Hashemi rejected the"politically motivated" judgment of the courts of Baghdad declaring of being "totally innocent". The Sunni Iraqi's leader accused al-Maliki of being behind the death sentence, "decided by a judiciary politicized organism".