The case has been a thorn in diplomatic relations between Baghdad and Washington since the American military pullout last December. US terror experts have described Ali Mussa Daqduq as among “the worst of the worst” militants and would remain a severe threat to Americans if freed.
Daqduq’s attorney, Abdul-Mahdi Al-Mitairi, said he expects Iraqi courts to agree that there is not enough evidence to keep him in prison.
“Legally, the investigation judge should have already released him for a lack of evidence, but he was under pressure from the Americans,” Al-Mitairi said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press.
“Now we are waiting for the case to be transferred to a criminal court in the coming few weeks, and I think he will be released after the first trial session,” Al-Mitairi said.
Daqduq is a Lebanese commander for Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group linked to numerous deadly attacks. US officials say he trained Shiite militias in Iraq and helped plot the 2007 killing of four American soldiers in the holy city of Karbala, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad.
