BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's new education minister, Shaima al-Hayali, resigned Saturday to Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi over allegations that her elder brother was linked to the organization of the Islamic state after appearing with two propaganda photographers from Mosul in the north.
A few days after giving her confidence in parliament, Shaima al-Hayali, a professor at the University of Mosul, the state's "capital of the caliphate," announced in a tweet through her Twitter account that her resignation had been handed over to the prime minister.
"I declare to all that I am putting my resignation in the hands of the prime minister ... to decide on it once he is sure of any connection between me and terrorism or the terrorists, God forbid," Al-Hayali said in a statement.
In 2016, her brother Laith Al-Hayali, who was the director of Nineveh Water Department, appeared in a video recording published by the agency "Depths" of the state organization.
Al-Hayali appears in one of the two white-collared tapes, condemning the bombing of the US-led international coalition for water infrastructure in Mosul.
In this context, the minister stressed in her statement that her brother, who is being kept out of sight, "forced him to urge (the state organization) under threat to work in his department where he works before and after liberation."
| Parliamentary session attended by Prime Minister (right) (Anatolia-archive) |
Clarification and details
Like many others, the militant organization has been forced to declare what is in line with their brute force - the minister says - but without any involvement in carrying arms or helping them kill any Iraqi.
"My brother's condition is like the tens of thousands of cases that have forced her to remain in her jobs under the authority of an occupying power. No one who has been subjected to this power without his will will be punished for having to stay.
The news sites were circulating news that al-Hayali was a leader in the state organization during his control of Mosul (2014-2017).
Former MP Mish'an al-Jubouri published a bulletin on his Facebook page confirming that al-Hayali was one of the most prominent leaders of the organization in Mosul.
Al-Jubouri wondered: How did the state security institutions hide this information about the prime minister and the parliament, which gave them confidence in the moment of breaking the wills and the sale and purchase of positions involving some corrupt influential people?
The resignation came just four days after the minister took office, where the parliament gave her confidence last Tuesday, while the prime minister's office did not comment until Sunday afternoon on the minister's statement.