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BAGHDAD (LA Times) Dec. 18, 2006 — A prominent Iraqi American, jailed on corruption charges several months ago, was sprung from a Green Zone prison this weekend by U.S. security contractors, an Iraqi official said today.
Ayham Samarrai, a Chicago-area businessman, returned to Iraq after the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion and assumed the position of Electricity minister during the interim government of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
A Sunni Arab who claimed ties to the insurgency, he was later arrested and charged with a dozen counts of misallocating $1.5 billion of Iraqi government money. A judge has dismissed one count, and his court case continued.
According to Judge Radhi Radhi, Iraq’s top anticorruption official, two GMC vehicles belonging to an American security company arrived at the Samarrai’s jailhouse Sunday afternoon, intimidated the police officers guarding the site and took the suspect away without firing a shot.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
