Leave Australia, Iraq Envoy Told
The government has ordered an Iraqi diplomat who it believes is a spy to leave Australia by Wednesday, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Saturday.
“We have reason to believe that he’s associated with the Iraqi intelligence agency, and he is assessed by our agency as an Iraqi intelligence officer. His activities are incompatible with his status of a diplomat,” Downer told reporters in Adelaide.
Iraq’s charge d’affaires in Australia denied that the Canberra-based attache, Helal Ibrahim Aaref, was a spy.
He said Australia had not produced any evidence to back up its claim.
“I am deeply hurt, shocked and surprised. We are their guests, but to say he’s a spy, no, it’s unacceptable for us,” Saad Samarai said. “It is a judgment -- it is a decision without any evidence.”
Samarai said Aaref, who is in his 40s, would leave the country within the next couple of days.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
