Six Iraqis on Death Row Executed, Three for ‘Terrorism’

Members of the Iraqi police. (AFP file photo)
Members of the Iraqi police. (AFP file photo)
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Six Iraqis on Death Row Executed, Three for ‘Terrorism’

Members of the Iraqi police. (AFP file photo)
Members of the Iraqi police. (AFP file photo)

Six Iraqis sentenced to death, three for “terrorism”, were hanged Monday in a prison in southern Iraq, a medical source told AFP.

The source said the hangings took place in Nasiriyah prison, where death row prisoners are held.

Those not executed for “terrorism” were sentenced over “criminal cases”.

Rights group Amnesty International says it recorded more than 45 executions in Iraq last year, including many of people accused of belonging to the ISIS group.

Since Baghdad officially declared victory over ISIS in 2017, Iraqi courts have sentenced hundreds to death for crimes perpetrated by the extremists who had set up a so-called “caliphate” in territory seized in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Only a small proportion of the sentences have been carried out, as they must be approved by the president.

Barham Salih, who has held the post since 2018, is known to be personally against capital punishment.

According to an AFP tally, at least 14 people sentenced for “terrorism” have been executed in Iraq since the start of the year, all at the Nasiriyah prison.

Earlier this month, a man who murdered a senior Iraqi official in broad daylight was sentenced to death amid revulsion over the government’s failure to halt a wave of assassinations.

In January, an official from Iraq’s presidency told AFP more than 340 execution orders “for terrorism or criminal acts” were ready to be carried out.



EU Ministers Reject Move to Freeze Dialogue with Israel over Gaza War

17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
TT

EU Ministers Reject Move to Freeze Dialogue with Israel over Gaza War

17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
17 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, Bureij: A general view of the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

European Union foreign ministers on Monday rebuffed a proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel put forward by the bloc's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who cited concerns about possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza.

Borrell had written to the ministers ahead of Monday's meeting in Brussels, citing "serious concerns about possible breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza".

But Borrell and other officials said the ministers did not approve the move.

"Most of the member states considered that it was much better to continue having (a) diplomatic and political relationship with Israel," Borrell told a press conference after the meeting.

"But at least I put on the table all the information produced by United Nations organisations and every international organisation working in Gaza and the West Bank and in Lebanon in order to judge the way the war is being waged."

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters: "We know that there are tragic events in Gaza, huge civilian casualties, but we do not forget who started the current cycle of violence."

The political dialogue is enshrined in a broader agreement on relations between the EU and Israel, including extensive trade ties, that entered into force in June 2000.

A suspension would have needed approval from all 27 EU countries.

In a blog post last week, Borrell accused Israel of repeatedly not heeding pleas from the EU to respect international law in Gaza.

Israel has rejected accusations that it is violating international law in the enclave. It says its forces distinguish between civilians and combatants and the Israeli military acts with proportionality to any threat.

The EU has struggled to find a strong united position on the Gaza war, which was triggered by attacks by Hamas Palestinian fighters on Israel on Oct. 7 last year.

The bloc has called on Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and on both sides to respect international law. Gaza health authorities say Israel's campaign has killed nearly 44,000 people.