An Iraqi legal team comprising some 700 experts is confident it will win its lawsuit against the US embassy, which is accused of illegally seizing 40 acres of strategic land in central Baghdad on which the diplomatic mission is located, Mustafa Hafez, one of the lawyers, told Sputnik on Friday
BAGHDAD (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2020) An Iraqi legal team comprising some 700 experts is confident it will win its lawsuit against the US embassy, which is accused of illegally seizing 40 acres of strategic land in central Baghdad on which the diplomatic mission is located, Mustafa Hafez, one of the lawyers, told Sputnik on Friday.
The team has submitted an official request to the prosecution that the land be returned to Iraq or compensation be paid by Washington to Baghdad.
"A request was addressed to the Iraqi prosecution [asking for an] explanation of the legality of the land transfer, whether [it was carried out] by selling or renting the land. We are sure that there is no such point according to the research that we have conducted before filing the case," Hafez said.
The lawyer expressed hope that the local Public Prosecution Department would respond by Sunday.
"The team responsible for this case is not a small group but comprises around 700 lawyers from different provinces [and cities] such as Baghdad, Mosul, Karbala, Salah ad-Din and Hillah," Hafez added.
Hafez went on to say that that the team would continue the case until Iraq obtained the land back or received compensation from the US embassy. According to him, the embassy "illegally seized" an area of around 16 hectares (40 acres) in the district where the Presidential Palace is located. Despite this territory having symbolic significance for Iraq's sovereignty, Hafez said that the embassy has set up infrastructure there for yet unknown purposes.
