DUBAI, UAE - Former Iraqi parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi’s forgery case is eligible for the general amnesty, and Iraqi lawmaker said on Monday.

In a statement posted on social media Monday, Bassem Khashan said that Halbousi altered the acceptance date of lawmaker Laith al-Dulaimi’s resignation from May 7, 2022 to January 15, 2023, using the document twice to terminate his membership.

“This is a proven forgery crime that caused material and moral damage to Laith al-Dulaimi,” Khashan wrote. “The constitution and law guarantee him the right to a fair trial that convicts Halbousi, who was found guilty by the Federal Supreme Court of forging and reusing the resignation request.”

Khashan said that after the forgery was uncovered, Halbousi issued a parliamentary order correcting the termination date from Jan. 15, 2023, to May 5, 2022, effectively acknowledging the falsification. 

The court determined that Dulaimi continued to serve as a lawmaker until early 2023.

“I personally supervised this case, uncovered all acts of forgery, and contributed to drafting the legal briefs,” Khashan said. “I have copies of all the forged documents.”

He added that Dulaimi filed a complaint with the Integrity Commission, which led to a criminal case against Halbousi.

Khashan noted that the general amnesty law passed in January allows for Halbousi’s crime to be pardoned, but only if Dulaimi withdraws his complaint. 

“I don’t think he will,” Khashan said.

In November 2023, the Federal Supreme Court ruled to annul Halbousi’s parliamentary membership and remove him as speaker after convicting him of forging official documents. 

The ruling was announced during a parliamentary session, prompting Halbousi to leave the chamber.

Iraq’s Parliament passed a second amendment to the 2016 general amnesty law in January after years of debate. 

The amendment is expected to grant amnesty to thousands of prisoners convicted of various charges. 

However, critics argue that it will allow individuals convicted of corruption to be released, including Noor Zuhair, the primary defendant in Iraq’s high-profile “Heist of the Century” corruption case.