- Iraq's vice president is sentenced in the deaths of two people, official says
- He's accused of other crimes, including running a death squad
- He says the charges are politically motivated
Baghdad (CNN) -- Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who has been on the run for months, was sentenced to death Sunday, an official said.
Al-Hashimi were sentenced to hang "because he was involved directly in killing a female lawyer and a general with the Iraqi army," said Abdul Sattar al-Berqdar, a spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council.
"There are many other charges against al-Hashimi, but this is one of the charges he was convicted of," al-Berqdar said
Iraq's Central Criminal Court issued the sentence for al-Hashimi and his son-in-law Ahmed Qahtan. Qahtan is not in custody either.
Al-Hashimi has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated.
Last year, the Sunni-majority Iraqiya bloc temporarily suspended its participation in parliament over claims that it was apparently being cut out of the political process.
Soon after, an arrest warrant was issued for al-Hashimi, the leader of the Iraqiya bloc, accusing him of running a death squad.
His party has since ended its boycott, though al-Hashimi remains a fugitive
