IRAQ HANGS TERRORISTS

                                          

In 2016, seven Al-Qaeda terrorists were executed in Iraq by hanging. The terrorists who were from Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan and Jordan had been arrested over four years previously as announced by Dakhel Radhi, a provincial council member of Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province. He added that the executions were by hangings in Nasiriyah prison. He also said that another 60 al-Qaeda members are awaiting execution in the Nasiriyah prison as well.

In June 2018, Iraq executed 13 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) prisoners convicted on terror charges, the Justice Minister.  The ministry released photographs of the executions, including one showing four men hanging from the gallows. The prisoners had exhausted their appeals, the ministry said. The hangings took place just hours after Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi called for speedy executions of those on death row for terrorism executions.

Al-Abadi's order seeking "just retribution" followed the murders of eight policemen and members of a pro-government Shiite militia by ISIL militants. The eight were believed to have been abducted by the militants earlier in June 2018. The killings raised fresh questions about Iraq's security situation, even months after the government declared victory over the ISIL militant group in December. Al-Abadi was being blamed for ignoring the lingering threat posed by the ISIL despite his so-called caliphate being dismantled.

Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who rarely comments on political issues, weighed in on the security situation when he said,  "Its so-called 'state' is shattered, but still there are cells that appear and disappear from time to time in the various areas to terrorize citizens," said in a sermon broadcast on state TV.  He accused the Iraqi government of losing sight of the threat posed by the ISIL as the country's politicians focus on forming coalitions after Iraq’s May elections.

ISIL has been defeated in all major urban centers it held at the height of its power in 2014 in Syria and Iraq, including Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. But the group still operates from pockets along the border with Syria and has continued to carry out attacks across Iraq.

Iraq executed the highest number of militants ever in one day when it hanged 36 who were convicted of killing up to 1700 Shi'ite soldiers in 2014.

Most of the accused terrorists who were put to death were Iraqi citizens; however, one of them was a Swedish citizen. The execution was the largest mass execution in the country since September  24^th, 2014 when 42 militants were executed.

On December, 10^th, 2014, Iraq declared victory over ISIS after ousting the terrorist organization from major territories.

In 2017, Iraq had sentenced to death by hanging a Russian who fought for Islamic State in Mosul, in the first such ruling on a foreign fighter and one which could set a precedent. The man admitted to being a member of the jihadist group and “carrying out terrorist operations” against Iraqi security forces since 2015, according to a statement released by Baghdad's central criminal court.

He was charged under the country’s anti-terrorism laws, which provides for death by hanging or firing squad.  Most suspected local ISIL members are being tried in northern Iraq, however most foreigners have been taken south to Baghdad. 

The 28-year-old fighter was said to have been captured after running out of ammunition. The Russian was handed over to Iraqi intelligence and then to judicial authorities, said General Rasool. During his interrogation, the Russian said he had studied engineering and discovered Islam in Moscow, where Uzbek construction workers introduced him to the religion common in Iraq.

General Yahya Rasool, a spokesman for Joint Operations Command, said that the Russian was "the first jihadist to surrender" to Iraqi forces in west Mosul, which was the scene of the most ferocious battles between the forces of ISIL terrorists and Iraqi forces.

After obtaining his degree in 2014, the Russia said he travelled to Turkey with the intention of entering Syria to join ISIL.   According to his testimony, he pledged allegiance to the jihadist group in Mosul, trained for a month and took the nom de guerre Abu Yasmina al-Russi.

The Russian said he was wounded during combat in Iraq when he was in in the Isil-held cities of Baiji and in Fallujah - before his surrender in Mosul.

Iraqi forces detained hundreds of suspected jihadists during the nine-month operation to recapture the country's second city, which culminated in July, 2014. 

They included foreign fighters from a number of Arab and other countries, including Russia, which has faced insurgencies by Chechens and other Muslim groups in the North Caucasus.

It is estimated as many as 7,000 extremists from Russia and other former Soviet states left to join ISIL in Iraq and Syria. A group of German women were also apprehended in the ruins of Mosul’s Old City, including a 16-year-old female convert to Islam who married a Chechen fighter. 

Linda Wenzel’s case became infamous after pictures and videos were published of her looking dishevelled as she was led away by Iraqi security forces.

While the number of detainees has not been made public, Iraqi authorities were thought to be holding several dozen non-Iraqis.

The teenager could theoretically face the death sentence, in accordance ng to Iraq's counter-terrorism law. However, even if she is sentenced to death in Iraq, she would not be executed before she reaches the age of 22.

Iraq has said it wold try all foreign ISIL suspects, however several European governments have said they would apply for extradition to see their citizens tried at home. I can hardly see that occurring since Iraq wants them dead—something that wouldn’t be the suspects  fate if they were sent back to their country unless they were sent back to Russia.

Judges have told the Telegraph that as many as 5,000 men are being held in prisons around Mosul awaiting trial.

Human rights group have raised their concern at Iraq’s use of the death penalty. The organization said it was working to confirm the ruling but said if true, it would be a “dangerous” if not predictable decision.

In 2016, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attempted to fast-track death sentences as his government faced growing anti-government protests demanding reform. However, the United Nations warned the move would likely result in “gross, irreversible miscarriages of justice,  given the weaknesses of the Iraqi justice system.

                                          

An Iraqi court sentenced to death yet another “terrorist” who was accused of partaking in the 2008 murder of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, one of the most famous and respected bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Mosul.    

In late February 2008, Rahho was kidnapped by gunmen who intercepted his car in al-Nour neighborhood and killed his two guards and driver, east of Mosul.

The incident occurred just after the 65-year-old bishop ended his prayers in his church, at a time when Christians were the target of insurgents throughout Iraq.

The kidnappers had demanded a ransom for the bishop’s release. But the money was not paid and, reportedly, Rahho had called his church demanding the money not be handed over to his kidnappers.

“He believed that this money would not be paid for good works and would be used for killing and more evil actions,” church officials had said, according to the New York Times.

In March, the bishop’s body was found buried in a shallow grave near Mosul, and security forces promptly arrested many suspects. Upon the inspection of his body, Raho’s exact cause of death was not apparent since he had a history of health problems.

The incident drew condemnation from the Vatican and foreign governments including the United States.

Just two months after in 2008, Iraq announced the death sentence of Ahmed Ali Ahmed, known as Abu Omar, who, then Iraqi government spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh, said was a leader of al-Qaida in the country.

A spokesperson for the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Abdul Sattar Birqdar, said in a statement that the Central Criminal Court considered the case and handed the “terrorist” the death penalty. The statement did not mention the individual’s name.

Birqdar added that the convict had asked Rahho’s church in Mosul to “pay 50,000 dollars for his release,” but the church did not comply with his request at the time.

An Iraqi court has sentenced to death by hanging a deputy to Islamic State An Iraqi court has sentenced to death by hanging a deputy to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi over his involvement in terrorist acts. The condemned man has been  identified as Ismail al-Eithawy, had fled the country into Syria, then he escaped into Turkey following the defeat of Islamic State, where he was arrested.

“The death sentence against the terrorist comes on the basis of the provisions of article 4 of the anti-terrorism law,” Birqdar said.    

                                        

Iraq’s Christian population is believed to have nearly halved since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Christians in Iraq have been subjected to increasing rates of violence

In November, 2018, Iraq condemned 16 Turkish women to death by hanging after they were found guilty of joining ISIL. Iraq has detained hundreds of women since ISIL has been shrinking in the region. Iraq has captured approximately 1,700 women and children since the summer of 2017. Some women were brought there by force, but many others joined voluntarily. All verdicts are subject to appeal.

About 1,400 foreign women and children surrendered with Islamic State (ISIS) fighters to Iraqi security forces, Iraq’s courts are sentencing the women to life in prison and even to death for non-violent crimes. The women have been charged with illegally entering Iraq and, in some cases aiding, abetting or having membership in ISIS, which carries the penalty of life in prison or death under Iraq’s counterterrorism law. 

Baghdad’s central court sentenced an unnamed German woman in January 2018 to death for traveling to Syria with her two children to join.  ISIS. The women had been charged with illegally entering Iraq and, in some cases aiding, abetting or having membership in ISIS, which carries the penalty of life in prison or death under Iraq’s counterterrorism law. Tne other women of various nationalities were given life-imprisonment

The chief justice said that in these cases, unlike earlier ones of ISIS suspects, the defendants had lawyers present during their interrogations, which would be a positive elopement                                                 

A courtroom observer said that the women’s lawyers contended that the defendants’ husbands or others had tricked them into going to ISIS territory, but maintained that none of the women had been implicated in any violent acts. One woman said in court that her husband took their 2-year-old son and told her to follow him to Iraq or she wouldn’t see her son again.

The observer said the prosecution did not present evidence contesting the woman’s defense. Yet, the judges found all the women guilty of ISIS membership. The woman sentenced to death was found to have knowingly travelled to ISIS territory to join the group with her husband. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an irreversible, degrading, and cruel punishment. The woman’s trial was obviously a farce.
 

The Iraqi authorities should develop a national strategy to prioritize the prosecution of those who committed the most serious crimes. For those suspected only of membership in ISIS without evidence of any other serious crime, the authorities should consider alternatives to criminal prosecution. In these cases, the women are getting the harshest possible sentences for what appears to be marriage to an ISIS member or a coerced border crossing. The Iraqi courts need to redirect their priorities so that the accused get fair trials.  

In 1980, I was invited to address the Sixth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in Caracas, Venezuela on the topic of Capital Punishment. During my speech, I recommended that terrorists should be executed if their crimes included any act that resulted in the death of a human being. When I returned to Canada, I was invited as a guest speaker on a CBC television show and on that show,  I said again that terrorists should be executed.

In 1985, I was again invited by the United Nations to address the delegates at the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in Milan, Italy.  I was invited to speak on terrorism. This time, I didn’t speak from my desk on the floor but from the podium since the major Italian Television broadcasting company wnted  to televise my speech. My speech was shown on TV that night and portions of my speech were published in newspapers around the world. In my speech, I advocated trial of suspected terrorist be conducted as soon as possible and if the accused is convicted of terrorism, they should be executed as soon as the country’s Supreme Court confirms the conviction.

I have spoken out against capital punishment because of the risk of executing innocent persons but at the same time. I have said  that the exception should be the execution of terrorists who murder human beings.

The United States has no qualms of executing terrorists who murder human beings but Canada like other countries in the Western World prefer to send them to prison instead. I will not find fault with any nation who chooses to execute terrorists providing that the terrorists are given fair trials.