Iraqi government has executed 21 people, mostly for terrorism charges, Medialord has learnt.
This marked the highest single-day executions in years, Iraqi officials said.
Government linked the convicts, including a woman, to the Daesh militant group.
A security official confirmed, “Twenty-one convicts, including a woman, were executed.”
The woman had participated in a 2019 murder while protests erupted in Baghdad, according to Arab News.
The executions took place in Al-Hut prison, in Nassiriya city, said officials.
Medical sources confirmed that the forensic department received the bodies.
The exact execution day remains unclear, with sources pointing to either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Hundreds of Iraqis have received death sentences in recent years over terrorism charges.
However, rights groups criticized these trials for being too swift.
In July, Iraq executed 10 terror convicts. Rights groups condemned the mass use of capital punishment. In late 2023, government executed 13 prisoners, sparking concerns from UN experts. Iraq’s Justice Minister dismissed the criticisms as unfounded.
This highlights ongoing debates about capital punishment and justice in Iraq.
Reactions against the execution
The recent execution by the Iraqi authorities has drawn global condemnation. Just like it did in April when 13 persons were executed, the human rights community is not happy.
Amnesty International (AI) says executing on terrorism charges reflect Iraqi authority’s use of the death penalty as a means of political repression. It emphasized concerns over the fairness of the trials and the lack of transparency in the legal process.
Razaw Salihy, Amnesty International’s Iraq Researcher, said: “Iraq’s recent executions are alarming and disheartening. For years, a legacy of human rights violations and abuses have plagued Iraq’s justice system, landing thousands on death row after grossly unfair trials.”
Similarly, Human Rights Watch (HRW) view the execution based on terrorism charges as a part of a broader pattern of human rights violations. It expressed concern over the use of the death penalty in cases involving terrorism. It said that “executions carried out after trials that don’t meet international human rights standards may amount to arbitrary deprivation of life.”
The human rights body accused that the Iranian government often employs such measures to silence dissent and maintain control. They urged the Iranian authorities to abandon the death penalty altogether and reform their justice system.
Iraqi and history of execution on terrorism charges
Iraq has a poor record of human rights in history and the recent executions only help to heighten it. In April 2024, 13 men were put to death in Nasiriyah Central Prison, in the southern governorate of Thi Qar. Their execution followed their conviction on overly broad and vague terrorism charges.
Amnesty International also concerned that action, stating that many more people may have been executed in secret amid a disturbing lack of transparency.
Security sources had earlier confirmed to the media the execution of 13 men on 25 December 2023. There were reports of more may have been executed after April, 2024 as the authorities give no advance notice to the prisoners or their families and lawyers.
Salihy observed then that: “Iraq’s recent executions are alarming and disheartening. For years, a legacy of human rights violations and abuses have plagued Iraq’s justice system, landing thousands on death row after grossly unfair trials.”
“Executions carried out after trials that don’t meet international human rights standards may amount to arbitrary deprivation of life. The Iraqi government must immediately establish an official moratorium on executions and work towards abolishing the death penalty entirely,” he submitted.
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