Iraq slams Germany for murder suspect's extradition

Iraq has expressed anger with both the governments of Germany and its own autonomous Kurdish region for extraditing a man suspected of raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl in the city of Wiesbaden last month.

There is no extradition treaty between Baghdad and Berlin, and Iraq has accused the German government of making a deal with Kurdish authorities before Baghdad could process the extradition request for the suspect, known only as Ali B.

The German Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism, however, saying that "we have not received any official notice," of protest from Iraqi officials, despite a statement of disapproval from their counterparts in Baghdad.

Public prosecutors in Wiesbaden have argued that German security services have not violated any laws or treaties, citing several clauses of Germany's federal policing laws.

Federal police reportedly flew to the Kurdish capital of Irbil to pick the man up themselves, before bringing him back on a Lufthansa plane.

Suspect was 'gangster, drug dealer'

The teenage Susanna was first noticed missing from her home on May 22. Her body was found more than a week later not far from the refugee home where the suspect lived. The young girl has since been laid to rest in the Jewish cemetery in nearby Mainz.

According to Der Spiegel magazine, Ali B. was described by fellow residents of the refugee home where he lived as a gangster and drug dealer who felt he was out of the reach of German authorities. That his criminal activity and subsequent flight to his native Iraqi Kurdistan were not prevented by security services has caused a great deal of criticism for immigration officials in Germany, particularly from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

There are also questions as to why he was able to remain in Germany after his asylum application had been rejected.

Prosecutors are still waiting on the results from a DNA test to confirm Ali B.'s culpability in Susanna's murder. He is reported to have confessed to the murder. The suspect remains in custody under heavy guard in Frankfurt.

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