Iraqi officials probe 'illegal jail'
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Al-Sadr has widespread backing in the Shiite-dominated Sadr City.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi Governing Council says it has asked authorities to investigate allegations an illegal prison is being run by a top Shiite cleric.
Moqtada al-Sadr is suspected of operating an unlawful prison in Iraq, said Safaa Al-Rasool, deputy of the Governing Council member Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who is a Shiite Muslim.
It is not clear when the request was made, but the justice and interior ministries were asked to investigate the matter.
Al-Rasool told CNN the law in Iraq allowed various Shiite clerics to have a court system that ran on the basis of their teachings and people were able to attend these courts if they chose.
But he said these Shiite groups were not authorized to operate their own prison. He said any case that might require imprisonment must be transferred to the Iraqi interior and justice ministries.
Al-Sadr, who has widespread backing in the Shiite-dominated Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad and is associated with a militia, attempted to appoint an Islamic government to replace the Governing Council a few months ago.
There is a rumor circulating on the street that he has a prison. A Saudi-owned newspaper based in London also reported the allegation.
At a press conference Thursday, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the head of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, was asked about the same issue.
"If there are any courts operating outside of the law, they're at risk of being shut down," he said.
"If it is established that there is an illegal court then the Iraqi security forces assisted by coalition forces will take the appropriate action."