Iraq executes 5 men convicted for spreading ‘terrorism’, say media reports

Irrespective of global outrage in last few months over the country’s execution record, Iraq on Tuesday carried hanged five people charged for spreading terrorism, reported AFP.

The five men, who hail from Iraq, were executed in the Nasiriyah prison in Dhi Qar province, the only one in Iraq that puts capital punishment into effect.

The group execution was the second one, which took place after the hanging of three ‘terrorism’ convicts in Nasiriyah last month.

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Iraqis dreadfully refer to Nasiriyah jail as Al-Hut, the Arabic word for “whale,” stating it as a vast prison complex that “swallows” people up.

A 2005 law carries the death penalty for anyone convicted of ‘terrorism’, which can comprise membership of an extremist group, even if the convict is not found culpable of any particular act.

Since declaring the defeat of Islamic State in late 2017, Iraq has sentenced many of its own citizens to death for becoming part of the jihadist group.

However, only a small proportion of the sentences have been pronounced, as they must be sanctioned by the country’s President Barham Saleh, who is known to be against capital punishment.

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Last month, Iraqi authorities disclosed that they had over 340 execution orders “for terrorism or criminal acts” that were set to be carried out. A majority of those approvals dated back prior to Saleh’s presidency.

Those earlier hangings were held following a twin suicide attack on Baghdad that killed nearly 32 people and was claimed to be done by IS.

Following the IS attack in January, there were public calls on social media for executions, with many slamming Saleh for being easy on such conducts. 

According to Amnesty International, despite Saleh’s moderating influence, Iraq in 2019 carried out the fourth highest number of executions among nations globally, after China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Human Rights Watch researcher Belkis Wille said that Iraqi leaders frequently make official announcements of group executions as a “signal” that they are conducting attacks on civilians seriously.

“The death penalty is used as a political tool more than anything else,” she added.