Iraq’s deputy justice minister has finally acknowledged that the convicted killer of aid worker Margaret Hassan has escaped from prison – 11 months after the event.
The announcement is an embarrassment for authorities because Mrs Hassan’s family made the news public last month.
Ali Lutfi al-Rawi, who had been reported missing last month, was jailed for life in June 2009 for his part in Mrs Hassan’s kidnapping and murder but had won the right to a retrial after an appeal.
Mrs Hassan (59), who had joint British, Irish and Iraqi nationality, had been married to an Iraqi and had lived in the country for 30 years. She was director of charity Care International in Iraq when she was abducted in October 2004 on her way to work. Her body has never been found.
Iraq’s deputy minister, Busho Ibrahim, yesterday said that authorities only discovered last month that al-Rawi was missing.
Al-Rawi was granted a retrial after saying he was not in Iraq when Mrs Hassan was killed. The retrial has repeatedly been postponed.