US sentences Asaib Ahl al-Haq former member to four years in prison

[Valin]

Rudaw

Chenar Chalak

May 7 2022

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A former member of an Iran-backed Shiite militia group was sentenced to four years in prison by the US on Friday for “lying” to US officials during his immigration application process, announced the Department of Justice late Friday.  

The 36-year-old Chasib Hafedh Saadoon al-Fawadi, an Iraqi who lives in New York, was sentenced to 48 months in prison after allegedly admitting to submitting false information to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services while applying for permanent residency in the country in 2017, stated the US Department of Justice.
 
Al-Fawadi had previously denied being a member of any groups engaged in violent activities, but was later revealed that he had been a member of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) militia group until he migrated to the US in 2016, according to the Department. 

Asaib Ahl al-Haq is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi), an umbrella group of Shiite paramilitary forces that was formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) under a fatwa from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. A number of forces within the umbrella group are backed by Iran.  

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