Iraq Hangs Alleged Islamic State Terrorists

Facts

• According to local security officials, Baghdad executed at least 11 Iraqi nationals — convicted of terrorism charges — at a prison in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on Monday.¹
• The alleged terrorists belonged to the country's Salahaddin province and were handed capital punishment reportedly for their affiliation with the Islamic State militant group.²
• However, Amnesty International alleges that at least 13 people were put to death in Nasiriyah, including two it claims were tortured and convicted of terrorism-related offenses.³
• Under Iraq's anti-terrorism law, membership in a group considered to be a terrorist organization reportedly carries the death penalty even if the defendant wasn't an active fighter.⁴
• Though access to data on the death penalty in Iraq is limited, Amnesty International claims that more than 8K inmates are on death row, with at least 150 facing imminent risk of execution.⁵
• Last year, Iraq's ministry of justice reportedly hanged 13 prisoners in Nasiriyah, the first mass execution since November 2020, when at least 21 were put to death on terrorism charges.⁶

Sources: ¹Yahoo News, ²Iraqi News, ³Amnesty International, ⁴The New Arab, ⁵Rudaw and ⁶Time.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Amnesty International. It's concerning that Iraq has yet again carried out death penalties delivered in sham trials that fail to meet international human rights standards. These effectively amount to arbitrary killings.
• Narrative B, as provided by Shafaq News. People on death row bear responsibility for massacres and deserve no mercy. Iraq must be praised for punishing those involved in terror activities in accordance with the rule of law.

Predictions