Iraq executed 10 individuals convicted of terrorism on Monday, marking the fourth such mass execution in three months, which has led to renewed calls from human rights organizations for the abolition of the death penalty.
According to AFP, in recent years, Iraqi courts have issued numerous death and life imprisonment sentences for terrorism-related offenses.
These trials have been criticized by rights groups for their perceived hastiness.
Under Iraqi law, both terrorism and murder are capital offenses, requiring presidential approval for execution orders.
According to a health official, the ten individuals executed at Al-Hut prison in Nasiriyah were Iraqi nationals found guilty of terrorism and membership in the Daesh group. A security source corroborated the executions.
The executions were carried out under Article 4 of Iraq’s anti-terrorism law.
The health department has since received the bodies of those executed, the health official reported to AFP.
Both sources requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject.
Al-Hut prison, often referred to as “the whale,” is infamous in Iraq, as it is believed that prisoners rarely leave alive.
Iraq has faced international criticism for these trials, particularly because the terrorism charge can result in the death penalty even if the defendant was not an active combatant.
On May 31, Iraq executed eight people for terrorism. Additionally, eleven were hanged on April 22, and another group was executed on May 6, according to security and health sources.
In June, UN experts expressed alarm over the high number of executions reported since 2016, nearly 400, including 30 this year.
“When arbitrary executions are on a widespread and systematic basis, they may amount to crimes against humanity,” said special rapporteurs, including the expert on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary execution. Official records indicate there are 8,000 prisoners on death row in Iraq.
The experts urged Iraqi authorities to “halt all executions” and expressed horror at the high number of deaths in Nasiriyah prison due to “torture and deplorable conditions.”
Although appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, these experts do not represent the United Nations.
Rights groups have condemned these legal proceedings as rushed and cautioned that confessions might be obtained under torture.
Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher, Razaw Salihy, stated, “Iraq’s continuous implementation of the death penalty — despite national and international outcry — means we could be hurdling toward a human catastrophe unfolding on its death row.”
She called on Iraqi authorities to “halt executions immediately in order to address the gross injustices that landed thousands on death row and the horrendous conditions they languish in.”
The Daesh group, which seized large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declared a “caliphate” and launched a campaign of terror.
It was eventually defeated in Iraq in 2017 by Iraqi forces with US-led coalition support, and in 2019, lost its last stronghold in Syria to US-backed Kurdish forces.
However, remnants of the group continue to conduct deadly attacks and ambushes from remote areas and desert hideouts.
