Iraq's outgoing President Barham Salih on Tuesday called for cooler heads to prevail after the country's judiciary suspended its activities, saying the move should not be a catalyst for further unrest. The dormancy of the judiciary risks putting the country on a "dangerous" path, he said in a statement, underlining "peaceful protest and freedom of expression" as constitutional rights. "The rights of peaceful demonstrations and free expression of opinions are guaranteed by the constitution, but disrupting the work of the judicial institution is dangerous for the country's security. "We should protect the judiciary's independence and prestige, and the demands shall be confined within the legal and constitutional frameworks," he said. Iraq's judiciary suspended its activities after supporters of prominent cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr assembled near its headquarters in an effort to urge Iraq's top court to dissolve parliament. Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi cut short his visit to Egypt in order to deal with the crisis at home, while Baghdad has seen its longest run without a government in two decades. Salih warned of the reverberations of the Supreme Judicial Council's decision to suspend its activities all over Iraq. He urged the Iraqi political forces to pursue dialogue and ensure the country does not slide into a perilous and unknown abyss. Salih said that the critical situation in Iraq requires "unity and protecting the peaceful democracy our people made huge sacrifices to achieve. We should not lose at any cost and work to avoid any escalation that might undermine the social peace and stability." — Agencies
