Suspects in Ba’ath party plot released

BAGHDAD | Iraqi authorities Friday released without charge the security officials who had been arrested this week for purportedly conspiring to revive Saddam Hussein’s banned political party, the interior minister said.

Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said an investigating judge ordered them released because they were “innocent” and that there was no evidence that they attempted to restore the Ba’ath party, whose exiled leaders staunchly oppose the current government.

He said 19 people were freed from custody and charges were to be dismissed against the remaining four who are not in custody.

Earlier in the day, Mr. al-Bolani told reporters at a news conference that the charges were politically motivated by those trying to undermine the Interior Ministry.

The release came a day after Iraqi officials said that up to 25 people from the three major security ministries had been arrested over the past week.

Some Iraqi politicians had speculated the move was part of campaign to bolster Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s power before two key elections next year.

Western officials have said privately that Mr. al-Maliki fears Iraqi military officers may someday attempt to seize power and has moved to tighten his control of the ministries that run the army and police.

The Ba’ath party ruled Iraq for 35 years until Saddam was ousted in 2003.

In other developments Friday, a judge announced a probe into the beating and bruising of an Iraqi journalist’s face moments after he hurled his shoes at President Bush, and said investigators destroyed the shoes in their search for explosives.

The statement 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 held by Mr. Bush and Mr. al-Maliki. According to the judge, Mr. al-Zeidi suffered a bruised face and eyes.

Mr. al-Zeidi has been in custody since the Sunday attack and hasn’t been seen since by relatives or a lawyer. He was wrestled to the ground seconds after throwing his shoes, and the judge said videotape of the scuffle would be studied carefully.

Mr. al-Zeidi’s case has become a rallying point among opponents of the U.S. invasion and military presence in Iraq. A Saudi reportedly offered $10 million for just one of the shoes, and an Iranian cleric suggested they should become museum pieces.

The judge also confirmed that Mr. al-Zeidi had written a letter of apology to Mr. al-Maliki. A spokesman for Mr. al-Maliki had said Thursday that Mr. al-Zeidi asked for a pardon in the letter. But Mr. al-Zeidi’s brother Dhargham said he suspected the letter was a fake.

Thousands of Iraqis demonstrated again Friday for Mr. al-Zeidi’s release. At Friday prayers in Baghdad’s Shi’ite stronghold Sadr City, cleric Mohanad al-Moussawi told worshippers that “al-Zeidi’s life must be protected, and he must be immediately, immediately, immediately released.”

Also on Friday, a Baghdad police official said seven disembodied heads and two complete corpses had been found in a deserted building in Sadr City. The victims appeared to have been killed about two years ago, the officer said.