Iraqi security sources reported on Monday that Baghdad has carried out the execution by hanging of 10 individuals convicted on terrorism-related charges. These executions were carried out in a prison in Nasiriyah, a city in southern Iraq. The sources confirmed that all the convicts were Iraqi nationals, convicted for their affiliation with ISIS and committing “serious terrorist crimes.”
Additionally, Iraq executed 11 individuals in April for terrorism-related charges, which drew criticism from Amnesty International. The organization expressed concerns about the potential for more executions being carried out without public disclosure, citing a “worrying lack of transparency” regarding execution processes in Iraq in recent months.
Iraq has tried and executed several individuals suspected of being jihadists in mass execution events since the defeat of ISIS militants in a U.S.-backed military operation from 2014 to 2017.
Recent reports from international human rights organizations have raised serious concerns about the execution of ISIS members and other prisoners in Iraq, particularly highlighting issues of transparency and due process. Amnesty International has expressed alarm over the executions conducted in Nasiriyah prison, noting that many were carried out after grossly unfair trials, with allegations of torture and forced confessions.
Human Rights Watch has also criticized the lack of transparency in the execution processes, pointing out that many executions in Iraq are carried out without prior notice to the detainees or their families, and in some cases, based on confessions obtained under torture. The organization has also highlighted the overbroad application of the death penalty for mere membership in a terrorist organization, without sufficient evidence of involvement in violent acts.
Furthermore, UN experts have called for an immediate halt to what they describe as mass, unannounced executions in Iraqi prisons. They’ve voiced deep concerns about the secretive nature of these executions and the broad application of the country’s Anti-Terrorism Law, which they argue contributes to arbitrary deprivations of life.
