A video of Wihdah Al-Jumaili, an Iraqi MP, sitting in a car and firing several shots into the air from a handgun has sparked criticism. The video emerged after stray bullets from gunfire killed a young Iraqi girl on New Year's Eve.
Jumaili said she was celebrating the marriage of a friend’s son by firing shots into the air. She wrote on Facebook that she shot in the air as “part of tribal practices adopted by tribes in Ramadi,” the capital of the Anbar province. But the video shows her car by the side of a highway in Baghdad’s Dorra district.
According to Arab News, shooting in the air is considered an offence under Iraqi law, and punishments range from between one and three years in prison.
Many said her actions encouraged others to break the law and use personal weapons irresponsibly.
Several lawyers filed a written request on Wednesday to Iraq’s attorney general, urging him to launch a prosecution.