World

More than 300 sentenced to death in Iraq for Daesh links

April 18, 2018
A member of the Russian diplomatic corps (L) talks with two Russian nationals as they attend their trial at the Central penal Court in Baghdad. Two Russian women were sentenced to life in prison for belonging to the Daesh group, the latest in a series of court judgments against militants. — AFP
A member of the Russian diplomatic corps (L) talks with two Russian nationals as they attend their trial at the Central penal Court in Baghdad. Two Russian women were sentenced to life in prison for belonging to the Daesh group, the latest in a series of court judgments against militants. — AFP

Baghdad — Iraqi courts have sentenced to death a total of more than 300 people, including dozens of foreigners, for belonging to the Daesh (the so-called IS) group, judicial sources said Wednesday.

The suspects are being tried by two courts, one near the former militant stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq and another in Baghdad which is dealing notably with foreigners and women.

Since January in the capital, 97 foreign nationals have been condemned to death and 185 to life in prison, according to a judicial source.

Most of the women sentenced were from Turkey and republics of the former Soviet Union.

In January, an Iraqi court condemned a German woman to death after finding her guilty of belonging to IS while on Tuesday a French woman was sentenced to life in prison.

At the court In Tel Keif near Mosul, 212 people have been sentenced to death, 150 to life in prison and 341 to other jails terms, Supreme Judicial Council spokesman Abdel Sattar Bayraqdar said in a statement.

"It has been proven that they carried out criminal actions at public hearings conducted in accordance with the law during which the convicts' rights were guaranteed," he said.

Iraq declared victory in December against IS which at one point controlled a third of the country.

On Monday the justice ministry said 11 people convicted of terrorism-related charges had been executed in Iraq, which according to New York-based Human Rights Watch is the world's number four executioner. — AFP


April 18, 2018
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