The unnamed person was the Sharia Mufti of al-Qaeda in Salahddin province, the Supreme Judicial Council stated. He confessed to working as a religious mufti in the terror group and to being a founding member of al-Qaeda in Shirqat, 250 kilometres north of Baghdad. He had several meetings with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda’s former leader in Iraq who was killed in a US airstrike in 2006.
"The terrorist admitted to issuing fatwas for killing members of the army and police, in addition to his participation in several kidnappings and murders, and his targeting of Peshmerga forces," the judicial council stated.
He also worked with the Islamic State group (ISIS) as head of the information department in southern Mosul, and he purchased weapons and distributed salaries to ISIS members.
After the US occupation of Iraq in 2003, extremist groups emerged in the country, including al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for kidnappings and killings of civilians, and foreign and Iraqi soldiers.
A 2005 Iraq law carries the death penalty for anyone convicted of terrorism, which can include membership in an extremist group even if they are not accused of specific acts. In January, Iraq approved death sentences for more than 340 people with charged with terrorism and other criminal offenses.
International observers have expressed concern about the trials and detention conditions of people held on terror charges, including the use of the death penalty for both Iraqi and foreign nationals convicted of involvement with ISIS, the use of violence and torture in prisons, and overcrowding in facilities holding ISIS suspects and their families.
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