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 24th, 2014
when 42 militants were executed.
On December, 10th,
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.
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