Paralympic committee punishes disabled athlete

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The secretary general of the Iraqi paralympic committee on Friday decided to punish the disabled female athlete, Alaa Hikmat, by depriving her from joining competitions for a year for “disregarding the federation’s decisions”. “The decision was considered in effect as of November 1, 2008,” Fakhir al-Jamali told IraqiNews.com. “Hikmat refused to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games,” he said. “The punishment relied on the recommendations of an investigation committee,” he added. MH (P)/AmR 1