Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraq's vice president, remains in Turkey despite a 'Red Notice' having been issued by Interpol requesting his extradition to Iraq.

The Sunni Muslim fled Baghdad last December, immediately after he was indicted by the Iraqi government for organizing death squads against Shia Muslims.

Hashemi was accused of working on a campaign of bombings and assassinations during 2006 and 2007, one of the worst periods of insurgency violence during the Iraq War. He and his bodyguards face about 150 charges of aggression against Shiite officials, according to Agence France-Presse.

Hashemi argues that the charges against him are politically motivated, and that he fled Baghdad because he feared for his life.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who stands behind the charges, is a Shia Muslim, as is the majority of the Iraqi population. Shiites were oppressed and persecuted under the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. But following the U.S.-led invasion to overthrow that government, they rose to power.

Now, the once-dominant Sunnis constitute a vulnerable minority.

Hashemi and other Sunnis, as well as many in the international community, have accused Maliki of unfairly consolidating his power. His Islamic Dawa Party now controls nearly every aspect of the central government in Iraq, inflaming tensions with the under-represented Sunnis and Kurds.

Hashemi's route of escape following his indictment offers insights into sectarian divisions in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole.

The semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where Hashemi first went after fleeing Baghdad, is more Sunni than Shia. The Kurds, an ethnic group spread across several nations but without a sovereign state of their own, have long chafed against the Iraqi government; tensions remain despite their partial autonomy. Just last month, the Kurds of northern Iraq cut off oil exports to Baghdad in a dispute about overdue payments.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of which hosted Hashemi before he landed in Turkey, are also majority-Sunni countries whose leaders were not happy about the rise of a powerful Shia administration in Iraq.

And in Sunni-majority Turkey, antagonism toward the new Iraqi government has been brewing in recent years. Last month, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Maliki butted heads over Maliki's leadership practices; Erdogan was among the chorus accusing the Iraqi leader of authoritarianism and inflaming sectarian tensions.

So when Hashemi first arrived in Turkey after being indicted, he was welcomed by top officials. "Mr. al-Hashemi is in our country due to his health problems and to hold talks regarding latest developments," said Erdogan. "I believe he will return to his country following his treatment."

On Tuesday, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Hashemi to encourage his extradition from Turkey so that he can stand trial in Iraq. The measure stops just short an official warrant of arrest.

But Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told BBC on Wednesday that Ankara would not extradite Hashemi as per Interpol's request.

On Thursday, Maliki fired back. "The remarks issued by Turkey do not show mutual respect," he said.

Hashemi's trial has been doubly pushed back, and is now scheduled for May 15. But the ongoing standoff between Turkey and Iraq, not to mention the unstable relationships between various sects and religious groups within Iraq and throughout the Middle East in general, may postpone that trial even further.