The incident in which a participant at the Iraqi "Federal Integrity Commission" conference claimed his bag was stolen has sparked widespread debate. Writer and political researcher Ahmad Al-Mayali alleged that his bag was stolen during the conference held by the Commission in Baghdad on Thursday.
In response, the Commission released an official statement on its "Facebook" page yesterday, Friday, claiming that "to uphold the transparency that the Federal Integrity Commission applies in dealing with the esteemed public and the general opinion, it needs clarifications from the one claiming his bag was stolen to present the facts."
The statement continued: "Dr. Ahmad Adnan Al-Mayali holds the position of the Associate Dean of the College of Political Science for Academic Affairs at the University of Baghdad, which is a high-ranking position in the Ministry of Higher Education. He accused the attending elites by saying: 'My bag was stolen, including my belongings by one of the attendees from the elites,' yet he did not specify who he meant by the elites—whether they are those affiliated with state institutions, or the elites from civil society or investigative journalism, or if he accuses all of them, given that there were no others present at the meeting."
The Commission clarified that "the conference was held with high security, which necessitated the prohibition of bringing personal bags into the meeting hall," questioning, "How did Al-Mayali manage to violate that and bring his personal bag into the meeting hall?"
It added, "If he meant the scientific bags that were distributed by the Federal Integrity Commission among the participants to promote the culture of integrity, he cannot claim ownership over them, as they are unnamed and available to all participants. They were placed on all chairs and do not contain belongings belonging to any attending character in the meeting."
The Commission also pointed out that Al-Mayali "did not clarify the reason for his invitation to the meeting or the inviting body, nor in what capacity he attended." It questioned, "If there had been a real theft, why didn’t he ask the organizers to check the cameras? To identify the thief, as the hall and hotel are covered with security cameras."
The Commission confirmed that it "awaits his (Al-Mayali's) response to these inquiries, in the same manner that he published his claim regarding the theft of his bag, to be able to ascertain the truth and provide an apology to him and all Iraqis for any shortcomings. Otherwise, the Commission will be compelled to file a complaint against him in the competent court according to law, in order to refute the accusation against it and punish anyone who misled public opinion and falsely accused the Commission and the respected elites present at the meeting."
For his part, Ahmad Al-Mayali posted a clarifying statement on the "X" platform, in which he said: "On June 6, 2024, I attended the Provincial Councils Forum organized by your (the Commission) in the Al-Rasheed Hotel, and it happened that I lost the bag that was distributed to us at the entrance of the hall, after having placed some important papers inside it."
He added, "During the symposium, I lost my bag, including my belongings, by one of the attendees from the elites during the break." He clarified that the phrase "one of the attendees from the elites" does not include those affiliated with state institutions or the conference organizers at all, but may refer to those associated with journalists, civil society, or other personnel such as photographers or technicians.
Furthermore, he mentioned, "The bag was given to me by the organizing body (the Integrity Commission) before I entered the hall (...) and I had with me some important papers and an invitation to a program for another official conference that I placed in the bag before entering the hall. I shared the aforementioned incident (the previous statement) for security and professional reasons, as the papers reveal my identity and the identities of important and sensitive figures attending a scientific gathering at a specific time and place, unpublishable and not intended for circulation. If it were otherwise, I would not have published it at all."
He stated, "The invitation was directed to me, not in my professional capacity but personally, and I have a copy of the invitation, as I am a writer and researcher in political and media affairs."
He requested "the hotel management to recheck the cameras to clarify the truth" of what he mentioned, pointing out that he "informed one of the Commission’s employees in relations and media about what happened at the time and sat near him," and said that "the Commission can verify that."
Al-Mayali apologized to "the Integrity Commission, its president, and the attendees," congratulating "everyone on their efforts in organizing the forum," indicating that "the published account was not intended to blame or accuse the organizing party of the conference or any governmental entity or personality at all, but rather was misrepresented by one of the media outlets," as he expressed.
