Iraq officials execute 42 people convicted on terrorism charges News
Iraq officials execute 42 people convicted on terrorism charges
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[JURIST] Iraqi authorities on Thursday announced the execution of 42 people [press release, in Arabic] convicted on terrorism charges. The executions took place over the course of two days and bring the total number of executions in Iraq this year to 132. The government of Iraq has been resorting to executions in the face of increased violence in the country. In August 17 others convicted of terrorism were executed [JURIST report]. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) [press release] has reiterated its request that Iraq place a moratorium on all executions.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] in April condemned [JURIST report] Iraq’s execution of 21 prisoners [JURIST report] convicted of terrorism earlier that month, urging the country’s compliance with international human rights obligations. Also in April Iraq announced plans to reform [JURIST report] its de-Baathification laws to allow former members of Saddam Hussein’s regime to serve in the public sector. De-Baathification is a controversial subject that should be approached with caution [JURIST op-ed], according to a JURIST op-ed by Professor Haider Ala Hamoudi. In February, HRW criticized [JURIST report] Iraq for detaining and persecuting journalists.