Police Officers in Iraq Sentenced for Unexpected Bribe.. What’s the Story?

In an incident that sparked widespread controversy, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior issued strict sentences today, Monday, against police officers after they were caught accepting a "juice box" as a bribe while performing their duty in one of the country's streets.

The ministry stated in an official statement that the First Internal Security Court sentenced one of the patrol officers to two years of hard labor and a fine of one million and one hundred thousand Iraqi dinars after it was proven that he accepted a bribe in the form of a "juice box" from a transport vehicle driver while carrying out his duties.

The court also ruled for his dismissal from service as a secondary punishment, after the ruling became final, and classified the crime as "dishonorable".

Disciplinary actions did not stop there, as they also included one of his colleagues in the patrol, who overlooked the crime despite being aware of it and did not report it even after it circulated on social media.

He was sentenced to simple imprisonment for six months as punishment for his silence and negligence in performing his official duties.

As for the other patrol members, two of them were released due to insufficient evidence against them, according to the statement.

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior confirmed that it will not tolerate such individual actions that tarnish the reputation of the security apparatus, saying:

"We will not allow individual actions to be counted against the sacrifices of our men and their services in various fields of life, and we will be vigilant against anyone who tries to tarnish our reputation."

These sentences come at a time when Iraqi institutions are witnessing increased movements to combat corruption and promote integrity, even in its simplest forms.