Salem Chalabi: Difference between revisions
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'''Salem Chalabi''' (aka "Sam Challabi") (1963, [[Baghdad]]) is an Iraq born, American educated |
'''Salem Chalabi''' (aka "Sam Challabi") (born 1963, [[Baghdad]]) is an Iraq born, British and American educated lawyer. He was appointed as the first General Director of the [[Iraqi Special Tribunal]], set up in 2003 to try [[Saddam Hussein]] and other members of his regime for crimes against humanity. His appointment, by an order signed by L. Paul Bremer III, the head of the occupation authority,<ref name="THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: BELEAGUERED IRAQI">{{cite web | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E2DB163FF931A2575BC0A9629C8B63 | title=The Conflict in Iraq: Beleaguered Iraq | author=SABRINA TAVERNISE AND JOHN F. BURNS| work=The New York Times| date=August 12, 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-18}}</ref> was widely criticized for perceived nepotism (his uncle, [[Ahmed Chalabi]], was critically involved in the US-led war against Iraq and Hussein) and he himself lacked any significant trial experience (he was a corporate securities lawyer). He was ultimately dropped from the Tribunal after an arrest warrant was issued for investigation into his role in the murder of a director-general of the Iraqi Ministry of Finance who was investigating Chalabi family properties acquired in Iraq; the charge was ultimately dismissed citing lack of evidence. |
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==Biography== |
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| ⚫ | Salem Chalabi was |
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| ⚫ | Salem Chalabi was educated in Britain and in the United States. His uncle [[Ahmed Chalabi]] was the controversial leader of the [[Iraqi National Congress]] and former member of the [[Iraq Interim Governing Council]] and a Deputy Prime Minister; he is also "a former banker in Jordan who fled the country in 1989 before he could be arrested in connection with a $200 million financial scandal. He was later tried in his absence and sentenced by a Jordanian court to 22 years in prison on 31 charges of embezzlement, theft, misuse of depositor funds and currency speculation."<ref name="friendsFamily">{{cite web | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/sep/24/worlddispatch.usa | title=Friends of the Family | author=Brian Whitaker | work=The Guardian | date=September 24, 2003 | accessdate=2008-09-06}}</ref> Salem studied at [[Bedford School]] in England and at [[Yale University]] (where he was on the Rugby Team and a member of the controversial [[Rockingham Club]]), graduating in 1985.<ref name="judgingSaddam">{{cite web | url=http://www.meforum.org/article/664 | title=Salem Chalabi: Judging Saddam | author=Michael Rubin | work=Middle East Quarterly | year=2004 | accessdate=2008-09-06 }}</ref> In 1993 he received a law degree from the [[Northwestern University School of Law]].<ref name="judgingSaddam" /> He worked for [[Morgan, Lewis & Bockius]] in New York and lastly for [[Clifford Chance]] in London, in both instances as a corporate lawyer specialising in capital markets.<ref name="friendsFamily" /> |
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| ⚫ | Questions about conflicts of interest swirled around Sam Chalabi."<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi">{{cite web | url=http://articles.latimes.com/2003/nov/07/world/fg-contracts7| title=Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi | author=Paul Richter and Edmund Sanders | work=The Los Angeles Times | date=November 7, 2003 | accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref> Returning to Iraq in April 2003 he founded the controversial [[Iraqi International Law Group]]. Chalabi set up this "marketing partnership with L. [[Marc Zell]], the former law partner of [[Douglas J. Feith]], the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy. Zell was to help lead American and Russian clients interested in reconstruction to Sam Chalabi’s firm, which would in turn help them meet U.S. and Iraqi officials".<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi" /> Zell, born in the United States, moved with his family to the Jewish settlement of Alon Shevut on the West Bank |
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| ⚫ | Questions about conflicts of interest swirled around Sam Chalabi."<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi">{{cite web | url=http://articles.latimes.com/2003/nov/07/world/fg-contracts7| title=Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi | author=Paul Richter and Edmund Sanders | work=The Los Angeles Times | date=November 7, 2003 | accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref> Returning to Iraq in April 2003 he founded the controversial [[Iraqi International Law Group]]. Chalabi set up this "marketing partnership" with L. [[Marc Zell]], the former law partner of [[Douglas J. Feith]], the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy. Zell was to help lead American and Russian clients interested in reconstruction to Sam Chalabi’s firm, which would in turn help them to meet U.S. and Iraqi officials".<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi" /> Zell, born in the United States, moved with his family to the Jewish settlement of Alon Shevut on the West Bank in 1988, at the start of the first Palestinian uprising, acquiring Israeli nationality. His Jerusalem based firm, whose staff produced the content of the [[Iraqi International Law Group]]'s website, cites as one of its main activities assisting Israeli companies to do business abroad.<ref name="Zionist settler joins Iraqi to promote trade">{{cite web | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/oct/07/iraq.israel| title=Zionist settler joins Iraqi to promote trade | author=Brian Whitaker | work=The Guardian | date=October 7, 2003 | accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref> |
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"In interviews, Sam Chalabi spoke of his daily contacts with his uncle [Ahmed Chalabi], and the fact that one of his 26 [[first cousins]] was the Iraqi minister of trade."<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi" /> Sam Chalabi also played an important role in the new government: as an advisor on the writing of commercial laws and a national constitution, among other issues. |
"In interviews, Sam Chalabi spoke of his daily contacts with his uncle [Ahmed Chalabi], and the fact that one of his 26 [[first cousins]] was the Iraqi minister of trade."<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi" /> Sam Chalabi also played an important role in the new government: as an advisor on the writing of commercial laws and a national constitution, among other issues. |
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After "an outpouring of publicity", Sam Chalabi disbanded the partnership, saying, “I have to be more careful about the appearance of a conflict of interest.”".<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi" /> |
After "an outpouring of publicity", Sam Chalabi disbanded the partnership, saying, “I have to be more careful about the appearance of a conflict of interest.”".<ref name="Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi" /> |
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Salem Chalabi was also appointed as |
Salem Chalabi was also appointed as counsel to newly founded security firm Erinys, which "won a plum $80 million contract to guard Iraqi oil installations, employing members of Chalabi's private militia for the purpose."<ref name="THE TRUTH ABOUT AHMED CHALABI">{{cite web | url=http://www.counterpunch.org/chalabi05202004.html| title=The Truth About Ahmed Chalabi| author=Andrew Cockburn | work=CounterPunch | date=May 20, 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-18}}</ref> |
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== Iraqi special tribunal == |
== Iraqi special tribunal == |
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With the capture of [[Saddam Hussein]] on December 13, 2003, an [[Iraqi Special Tribunal]] was announced, with Salem placed in charge by an order signed by L. Paul Bremer III, the head of the occupation authority,<ref name="THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: BELEAGUERED IRAQI">{{cite web | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E2DB163FF931A2575BC0A9629C8B63 | title=The Conflict in Iraq | author=SABRINA TAVERNISE AND JOHN F. BURNS| work=The New York Times| date=August 12, 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-18}}</ref> As such, Salem was responsible for the setting up and the administration of the tribunal, including the nomination of judges and prosecutors;<ref name="INSIDE IRAQ">{{cite web | url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2004/04/15-220404.htm | title=Inside Iraq | author=Kathleen Ridolfo| work=RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY | date=22 April 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref><ref name="Judging Dujail">{{cite web |url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/iraq1106/4.htm | title=Judging Dujail | author=Human Rights Watch| work=Human Rights Watch |date=November 2006 | accessdate=2008-09-12 }}</ref> he also arranged for the judges to visit the [[Slobodan Milošević]]' [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia|tribunal]] at the [[The Hague|Hague]]. |
With the capture of [[Saddam Hussein]] on December 13, 2003, an [[Iraqi Special Tribunal]] was announced, with Salem placed in charge by an order signed by L. Paul Bremer III, the head of the occupation authority,<ref name="THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: BELEAGUERED IRAQI">{{cite web | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E2DB163FF931A2575BC0A9629C8B63 | title=The Conflict in Iraq | author=SABRINA TAVERNISE AND JOHN F. BURNS| work=The New York Times| date=August 12, 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-18}}</ref> As such, Salem was responsible for the setting up and the administration of the tribunal, including the nomination of judges and prosecutors;<ref name="INSIDE IRAQ">{{cite web | url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2004/04/15-220404.htm | title=Inside Iraq | author=Kathleen Ridolfo| work=RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY | date=22 April 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref><ref name="Judging Dujail">{{cite web |url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/iraq1106/4.htm | title=Judging Dujail | author=Human Rights Watch| work=Human Rights Watch |date=November 2006 | accessdate=2008-09-12 }}</ref> he also arranged for the judges to visit the [[Slobodan Milošević]]' [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia|tribunal]] at the [[The Hague|Hague]]. |
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However on August 8, 2004, while Salem was in London, a warrant was issued in [[Iraq]] for his arrest, for his alleged involvement in the May 28, 2004 death of [[Haithem Fadhil]], director-general of the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. On the same day, a warrant was issued for his uncle [[Ahmed Chalabi]] on money counterfeiting charges |
However on August 8, 2004, while Salem was in London, a warrant was issued in [[Iraq]] for his arrest, for his alleged involvement in the May 28, 2004 death of [[Haithem Fadhil]], director-general of the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. On the same day, a warrant was issued for the arrest of his uncle, [[Ahmed Chalabi]], on money counterfeiting charges. However, those charges were dropped in late September 2004, with Judge [[Zuhair al-Maliki]] citing lack of evidence. The charges against Salem Chalabi were dropped in December 2004, citing lack of evidence. |
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On September 7, 2004 it was reported that Chalabi had been removed or was about to be removed from his post as head of the tribunal. On September 19 the [[New York Times]] quoted Iraqi interim Prime Minister [[Iyad Allawi]] as saying that he had received Salem's resignation.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/international/middleeast/19saddam.html | title=For Hussein, a Spartan Life at His Former Palace | author=John F. Burns | work=The New York Times | date=September 19, 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-06 }}</ref> |
On September 7, 2004 it was reported that Chalabi had been removed or was about to be removed from his post as head of the tribunal. On September 19 the [[New York Times]] quoted Iraqi interim Prime Minister [[Iyad Allawi]] as saying that he had received Salem's resignation.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/international/middleeast/19saddam.html | title=For Hussein, a Spartan Life at His Former Palace | author=John F. Burns | work=The New York Times | date=September 19, 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-06 }}</ref> |
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[[Category:Iraqi Shia Muslims]] |
[[Category:Iraqi Shia Muslims]] |
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[[Category:Iraqi lawyers]] |
[[Category:Iraqi lawyers]] |
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[[Category:People educated at Bedford School]] |
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[[Category:Yale University alumni]] |
[[Category:Yale University alumni]] |
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[[Category:Northwestern University alumni]] |
[[Category:Northwestern University alumni]] |
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Revision as of 10:43, 5 February 2015
Salem Chalabi (aka "Sam Challabi") (born 1963, Baghdad) is an Iraq born, British and American educated lawyer. He was appointed as the first General Director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, set up in 2003 to try Saddam Hussein and other members of his regime for crimes against humanity. His appointment, by an order signed by L. Paul Bremer III, the head of the occupation authority,[1] was widely criticized for perceived nepotism (his uncle, Ahmed Chalabi, was critically involved in the US-led war against Iraq and Hussein) and he himself lacked any significant trial experience (he was a corporate securities lawyer). He was ultimately dropped from the Tribunal after an arrest warrant was issued for investigation into his role in the murder of a director-general of the Iraqi Ministry of Finance who was investigating Chalabi family properties acquired in Iraq; the charge was ultimately dismissed citing lack of evidence.
Biography
Salem Chalabi was educated in Britain and in the United States. His uncle Ahmed Chalabi was the controversial leader of the Iraqi National Congress and former member of the Iraq Interim Governing Council and a Deputy Prime Minister; he is also "a former banker in Jordan who fled the country in 1989 before he could be arrested in connection with a $200 million financial scandal. He was later tried in his absence and sentenced by a Jordanian court to 22 years in prison on 31 charges of embezzlement, theft, misuse of depositor funds and currency speculation."[2] Salem studied at Bedford School in England and at Yale University (where he was on the Rugby Team and a member of the controversial Rockingham Club), graduating in 1985.[3] In 1993 he received a law degree from the Northwestern University School of Law.[3] He worked for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in New York and lastly for Clifford Chance in London, in both instances as a corporate lawyer specialising in capital markets.[2]
Mr. Chalabi was a member, immediately before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, of the Department of State sponsored Future of Iraq project, to which he was appointed as rapporteur of the Transitional Justice Working Group.[3]
Questions about conflicts of interest swirled around Sam Chalabi."[4] Returning to Iraq in April 2003 he founded the controversial Iraqi International Law Group. Chalabi set up this "marketing partnership" with L. Marc Zell, the former law partner of Douglas J. Feith, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy. Zell was to help lead American and Russian clients interested in reconstruction to Sam Chalabi’s firm, which would in turn help them to meet U.S. and Iraqi officials".[4] Zell, born in the United States, moved with his family to the Jewish settlement of Alon Shevut on the West Bank in 1988, at the start of the first Palestinian uprising, acquiring Israeli nationality. His Jerusalem based firm, whose staff produced the content of the Iraqi International Law Group's website, cites as one of its main activities assisting Israeli companies to do business abroad.[5]
"In interviews, Sam Chalabi spoke of his daily contacts with his uncle [Ahmed Chalabi], and the fact that one of his 26 first cousins was the Iraqi minister of trade."[4] Sam Chalabi also played an important role in the new government: as an advisor on the writing of commercial laws and a national constitution, among other issues.
After "an outpouring of publicity", Sam Chalabi disbanded the partnership, saying, “I have to be more careful about the appearance of a conflict of interest.”".[4]
Salem Chalabi was also appointed as counsel to newly founded security firm Erinys, which "won a plum $80 million contract to guard Iraqi oil installations, employing members of Chalabi's private militia for the purpose."[6]
Iraqi special tribunal
With the capture of Saddam Hussein on December 13, 2003, an Iraqi Special Tribunal was announced, with Salem placed in charge by an order signed by L. Paul Bremer III, the head of the occupation authority,[1] As such, Salem was responsible for the setting up and the administration of the tribunal, including the nomination of judges and prosecutors;[7][8] he also arranged for the judges to visit the Slobodan Milošević' tribunal at the Hague.
However on August 8, 2004, while Salem was in London, a warrant was issued in Iraq for his arrest, for his alleged involvement in the May 28, 2004 death of Haithem Fadhil, director-general of the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. On the same day, a warrant was issued for the arrest of his uncle, Ahmed Chalabi, on money counterfeiting charges. However, those charges were dropped in late September 2004, with Judge Zuhair al-Maliki citing lack of evidence. The charges against Salem Chalabi were dropped in December 2004, citing lack of evidence.
On September 7, 2004 it was reported that Chalabi had been removed or was about to be removed from his post as head of the tribunal. On September 19 the New York Times quoted Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as saying that he had received Salem's resignation.[9]
Mr. Chalabi is presently engaged as the head of the Iraq practice of DLA Piper.[10]
References
- ^ a b SABRINA TAVERNISE AND JOHN F. BURNS (August 12, 2004). "The Conflict in Iraq: Beleaguered Iraq". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-18. Cite error: The named reference "THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: BELEAGUERED IRAQI" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b Brian Whitaker (September 24, 2003). "Friends of the Family". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ a b c Michael Rubin (2004). "Salem Chalabi: Judging Saddam". Middle East Quarterly. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ a b c d Paul Richter and Edmund Sanders (November 7, 2003). "Contracts go to Allies of Iraq's Chalabi". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Brian Whitaker (October 7, 2003). "Zionist settler joins Iraqi to promote trade". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Andrew Cockburn (May 20, 2004). "The Truth About Ahmed Chalabi". CounterPunch. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Kathleen Ridolfo (22 April 2004). "Inside Iraq". RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (November 2006). "Judging Dujail". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ John F. Burns (September 19, 2004). "For Hussein, a Spartan Life at His Former Palace". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ > http://www.dlapiper.com/salem-chalabi/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
External links
- Profile: Salem Chalbi BBC News website from August 2004
- Interview with Salem Chalabi: Judging Saddam - August 2004 interview by Michael Rubin for Middle East Quarterly
- Interview with Salem Chalabi for BBC's Breakfast with Frost from June 2004
- Friends of the family Guardian story about Chalabi family connections from September 2003