Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi’s trial in absentia resumed briefly today. During the last session, the defense lawyers quit in protest when a judge refused to admit evidence that could prove Hashemi’s innocence. Today, they sat as spectators; however, they did interact with the judges and asked that President Jalal Talabani be called as a witness. The judges refused this request as well. The trial resumes on June 19.
Meanwhile, at least 20 Iraqis were killed and 60 more were wounded across the country. Baghdad saw a series of attacks, many of which were directed at government or security figures.
In Baghdad, a bomb blast at a restaurant in Shula killed 13 people and wounded 38 more. A bomb targeting the Qadisiya home of a Maliki advisor killed a passerby and wounded five more. Three bombs outside policemen’s homes in Amiriya left two dead and nine wounded. Four policemen were wounded during a bombing in Doura. A bomb wounded four civilians in Ghazaliya.
In Mosul, gunmen killed a police major. A police captain and his driver were killed in another shooting.
A sticky bomb killed a professor from Tikrit University at his home in Qadisiya.
