Fearing for life in Iraq, diplomat eyes KSA asylum

Mued Al-Obaidi, an Iraqi diplomat at the embassy in Riyadh, has refused to return to Baghdad after being summoned by his government. He is now considered resigned.
Al-Obaidi had made statements to a Saudi newspaper and feared he would be arrested upon arrival at Baghdad airport.
The diplomat had accused the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad of obstructing an agreement on the exchange of prisoners between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
“I have no disagreement with the Iraqi government, but it seems that it has had issues with me since I came to the Kingdom to take up my post at the Iraqi Embassy,” said Al-Obaidi, adding that his responsibility was to hold talks on bilateral relations between the two countries, which culminated in the signing of an agreement on exchanging prisoners.
He said that officials in Baghdad were angered by the statements he made to Saudi media on the progress of the agreement. “I only spoke of work going on at the embassy; I did not bring up Iraqi politics,” he said. He said he was not forced to quit and that he himself submitted his resignation in compliance with Iraqi law.
The diplomat said that Nuri Al-Maliki, prime minister of Iraq, would discuss the file of Saudi prisoners in Iraqi prisons who are on death row when he meets with a Saudi delegation. He added that the Iraqi Minister of Justice, Hassan Shammari, refused to include discussions on Saudi death-row prisoners in the agreement. “The negotiations lasted a whole year, but they were stalled in Parliament,” said Al-Obaidi.
Al-Obaidi is residing in Riyadh for the time being awaiting the approval of bodies of jurisdiction to grant him a legal residency card. “I have been offered an academic post at a university in Riyadh.”
He said that he didn’t leave for Baghdad for fear of his life after receiving threats, emphasizing that a senior official told him that a warrant for his arrest had been issued in Baghdad.