IRAQ. LAWMAKER COULD BE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR VISITING ISRAEL

an Iraqi lawmaker who has made two trips to Israel and advocates peaceful relations with the Jewish state had his parliamentary immunity lifted last week and now could face a death sentence if Baghdad chooses to prosecute him.
Mithal al-Alusi visited Israel for the second time last week to attend a conference at the International Institute for Counterterrorism in Herzliya. News of the trip caused a political storm resulting in the Iraqi parliament overwhelmingly voting to strip Alusi of his immunity.
Without his parliamentary immunity, Alusi can now be prosecuted for visiting the Jewish state, a crime punishable by death under a decades-old law.
Alusi's first visit to Israel came in 2005 and led to an assassination attempt that left his two sons dead.