“The state of Qatar receiving a wanted person is an unacceptable act and Qatar should back off from this stance, and return him to Iraq,” Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Al Shahristani told a news conference in Baghdad.
Shahristani added that the autonomous Kurdistan region, where Hashemi had been holed up since charges were issued against him in December, had committed a “clear challenge to law and justice” by allowing him to leave the country.
Hashemi arrived on Sunday in Doha, where he was welcomed by Qatari Minister of State Shaikh Hamad bin Nasser bin Jassem Al Thani, according to Qatari state news agency QNA. He “left the Kurdistan region of Iraq this morning, Sunday, going to Doha,” accepting an invitation he had previously received, a statement from Hashemi’s office emailed to AFP said.
