The Iraqi judiciary warned on Wednesday that people involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine will face jail as it attempts to crack down on the recruitment of Iraqis joining the conflict.
Faiq Zidan, the head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, received on Wednesday National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji and members of a committee tasked with combating the recruitment of Iraqis.
Zaidan stressed that Iraq criminalizes any Iraqi who joins the armed forces of another nation without the approval of the government.
The judiciary does not have a fixed prison term for anyone accused of the crime, but a court in Najaf last week sentenced to life an Iraqi accused of human trafficking.
He was convicted of belonging to an international criminal gang that recruits Iraqis to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
In November, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered the formation of a committee, headed by Araji, to crack down on the recruitment of Iraqis to fight for the Russian and Ukrainian militaries.
Iraq does not have official figures detailing how many of its citizens have joined the war. Media reports said some 50,000 Iraqis have joined Russian ranks, while unofficial figures put the number at around 5,000, with 3,000 fighting for Russia and 2,000 for Ukraine.
The debate over the recruitment played out over the media between the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors to Iraq.
Ukrainian Ambassador Ivan Dovhanych accused Russia of recruiting Iraqis. Last week, the Ukrainian government sent a letter to the Iraqi government about the recruitment.
It hailed Baghdad’s criminalization of such activity. The letter also revealed that Ukrainian authorities had arrested an Iraqi who was fighting for Russia.
Ukraine has denied that it has recruited Iraqis to join the conflict, but reports indicate otherwise.
Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Baghdad Elbrus Kutrashev acknowledged that Iraqi fighters had joined the Russian army.
Speaking to the media, he declined to give exact figures, but dismissed claims that they reached 50,000 or even 5,000, saying instead they number no more than a few hundred.
He confirmed that Iraqis had joined the Russian army and “that some four to five had lost their lives”.
He revealed that the Russian embassy in Baghdad had granted visas to Russia to the families of the deceased on humanitarian grounds.
Russian law allows any foreign national residing in Russia and who speaks Russian to join its army with a salary of around 2,500 to 3,000 dollars.
There have been mounting calls in Iraq for the authorities to crack down on human trafficking gangs.
Would-be recruits are often lured by the monthly salary and the possibility of gaining the Russian or Ukrainian nationality.
Critics of the authorities have said Iraqi youths are lured to join foreign wars given the lack of job opportunities in Iraq.
