US Army sergeant pleads not guilty to killing Iraq detainees

US Army Sgt. John Hatley entered a plea of not guilty to murder charges at his court-martial for the killing of four unarmed Iraqi prisoners in 2007.

Iraq court reduces sentence of shoe-throwing journalist

An appeals court in Baghdad reduced the sentence for Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist accused of throwing his shoe at former US president George W. Bush, from three years to one year.

Military jury acquits Marine of all charges in Fallujah detainee killing

A jury of US Marines acquitted Sgt. Ryan Weemer of murder and dereliction for his involvement in the shooting death of a detained Iraqi during a November 2004 offensive in Fallujah.

Iraq: labor conference pledges to fight for workers’ rights, against privatization

Union leaders from around the world gathered for the First International Iraqi Labor Conference in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, pledging to support workers’ struggles in Iraq, and fight privatization.

Iraq: Obama won’t speed pullout; clashes in Baghdad

President Barack Obama says he won’t consider speeding up the troop pullout from Iraq—as Baghdad clashes between Sunni Guardians and security forces left three dead and several detained.

Second US Army segreant convicted of killing Iraqi detainees

US Army Sgt. First Class Joseph Mayo was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing four unarmed Iraqi prisoners in 2007.

Iraq: al-Qaeda plot to spark Kurdish conflict?

Kuwait’s Arab Times speculates that with the deadly suicide blast in the contested city of Jalawla, al-Qaeda in Iraq is trying to spark an Arab-Kurdish war.

Military court upholds dismissal of charges against Haditha killings defendant

The US Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a military judge’s dismissal of charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani in the killing of 24 Iraqis in at Haditha.

Iraqi unions announce new confederation at Irbil international labor conference

At the first International Labor Conference ever held in Iraq, three of the country’s major labor organizations signed a pact in Irbil, announcing formation of a new labor confederation.

Iraq: shoe-throwing journalist gets three years

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court sentenced Muntadar al-Zaidi, the journalist accused of throwing his shoes at George W. Bush, to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader.

Iraq: more terror as Obama begins draw-down

President Obama will not replace two US brigades now departing Iraq—leaving 128,000 US troops there. But nine bombings over the weekend demonstrate the survival of a Sunni insurgency.

Iraqi civil resistance statement on International Women’s Day

The Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq writes: “After seven years of occupation, women in Iraq still suffer from outrageous misogynist practices of the Islamist and nationalist ruling militias.”