Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Associated Press

By LEON BARKHO

BAGHDAD, Iraq (November 28, 1999 10:08 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Iraqis risk imprisonment and loss of property if they try to leave the country illegally, according to a new travel law that went into effect early this month.

The law, excerpts of which were obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday, places additional travel restrictions on Iraqis in a bid to stem the exodus of experts and professionals who have been leaving in droves since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Under the law, a prison term of up to 10 years and "the confiscation of movable and immovable property" will be imposed on anyone trying to leave the country illegally. Similar penalties face anyone found encouraging or helping those banned from travel - including doctors, engineers and university professors.

The new rules come three months after President Saddam Hussein granted amnesty to all Iraqis who had left the country illegally.

Iraqi lawyers and judges, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new penalties do not apply to those who left the country before the law was issued.

It is not clear how many Iraqis have taken advantage of the pardon. According to official statistics, at least 3,000 university professors have left Iraq since the war, and sources at Iraqi universities, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not aware of any who have returned.

The Iraqi economy is suffering hyper-inflation due to U.N. trade sanctions imposed for Baghdad's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Government employees have watched the purchasing power of their monthly salaries shrink from the equivalent of $1,000 before 1990 to an average of $5.

The Iraqi opposition says more than 2 million Iraqi citizens are living abroad, a figure disputed by the government. Iraq's population is 22 million.

Some say the tough new regulations will have no effect. Travel agents in Baghdad say they have even noticed a surge in the number of Iraqis leaving the country.

Leaving the country legally requires an exit visa fee of $210, and some citizens must also provide collateral in the form of homes, land, jewelry or bank accounts.