Iraq’s customs agency received orders on Saturday to begin implementing a prohibition on the entry of alcohol, despite disagreements over the legislation.
Nonetheless, the specialty retail outlets that dominate alcohol sales in the virtual absence of bars or restaurants with permits continued to operate, at least in Baghdad, according to AFP.
The new law, which prohibits the sale, import, and manufacturing of alcohol, was first adopted by parliament in 2016, but it wasn’t until it was published in the official gazette on February 20 that it became a law.
“The General Customs Authority has given orders to all customs centres to ban the entry of all types of alcoholic drink,” the authority said in a statement.
The new legislation imposes fines for violations of between 10 million and 25 million dinars ($7,700-$19,000).
Yet, it is in opposition to a government order that was approved less than a week earlier on February 14, which imposed a levy of 200 percent on all imported alcoholic beverages for the following four years.
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The proposal has come under harsh criticism from parliamentarians and human rights advocates who represent Iraq’s shrinking non-Muslim minority.
According to MP Duraid Jameel of the Christian group, five members of parliament filed an appeal with the federal Supreme Court earlier this week, claiming that the prohibition was illegal since it did not respect the rights of minorities.
Although the alcohol ban is a federal law, it is unlikely to apply in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, which operates its own customs posts on the northern border with Turkey.
(With inputs from agencies)
