In an urgent joint declaration, leading attorneys at Amsterdam & Partners LLP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP have issued a formal open letter to President Donald J. Trump and President Abdul Latif Rashid of Iraq, calling for immediate international action against Chief Justice Faiq Zaidan, head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council. The letter exposes a brazen pattern of judicial corruption, interference, and state-sanctioned retaliation—naming Zaidan as the architect of a system that protects convicted fraudsters and persecutes reformers.
Sara Hameed Saleem, a U.S. citizen of Kurdish descent, is an engineer, investor, and businesswoman. In 2014, Ms. Saleem was abducted and subjected to 43 days of torture in Basra by militia actors linked to the state, following her refusal to participate in a $100 million fraudulent scheme involving the Trade Bank of Iraq. The perpetrators of the scheme Nizar, Namir, and Ramez Hanna Abdo (collectively known as the “Hanna Brothers”) were ultimately convicted by the Misdemeanor Court of Alkarkh in July 2023.
That conviction, however, was short-lived.
According to the legal teams, Chief Justice Zaidan personally intervened—accepting bribes, pressuring the trial judge, and ensuring the Hanna Brothers' release on minimal bail. A retrial is scheduled for April 30, 2025, with credible fears it will end in full acquittal. Meanwhile, Ms. Saleem—who never received a penny from the fraudulent scheme—is being dragged into a retaliatory civil suit in Erbil (Civil Case No. 157 / 2024).
This sprawling corruption scheme was coordinated by Faiq Zaidan, the Hanna Brothers, and the current Head of the Trade Bank of Iraq—a triad that engineered the fraud and now wields the judiciary to shield themselves while punishing whistleblowers and innocent victims.
“The future of Iraq cannot exist in the absence of the rule of law,” said Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP.
Akiva Shapiro, partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, added: “This is an extraordinary breach of international norms. A U.S. citizen is being persecuted while convicted fraudsters walk free. We call on our government to respond—publicly and forcefully.”
The open letter calls for:
- A full joint investigation by U.S. and Iraqi authorities into Zaidan's conduct;
- Immediate disengagement by U.S. institutions from Zaidan and the compromised Supreme Judicial Council;
- Diplomatic intervention to protect Ms. Saleem and restore judicial integrity.
In a personal statement, Sara Hameed Saleem stated:
“I gave a detailed and personal account of what I endured at the hands of Faiq Zaidan in the International Policy Digest. I was abducted, tortured, and now falsely prosecuted for refusing to participate in a crime. This is no longer about me—it's about every voice silenced by corruption and terror disguised as law. I urge President Trump and President Rashid to act—before more lives are destroyed.”
The joint letter has been formally submitted to senior officials in the U.S. government, the United Nations, major diplomatic missions, and key Iraqi and Kurdish leaders. Legal experts and human rights advocates warn that the outcome of the upcoming retrial could determine the fate of Iraq's judicial credibility.
— WebWireID337386 —
