ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two Iraqi courts issued death sentences by hanging for eight people on Thursday, the country’s Supreme Judicial Council announced, for two separate crimes that resulted in serious injuries of at least six people and the killing of one police officer.
Four people were handed death sentences by hanging by Anbar Criminal Court on Thursday, accused of detonating a car bomb in the city of Ramadi, according to the statement from the council, adding that the men were working with the Islamic State (ISIS).
The explosion occurred in September 2020, leading to serious injuries of three members of the security forces, as well as three civilians.
In a separate case, Najaf Criminal Court sentenced four people to death by hanging on Thursday, for the killing of a police officer from Dhi Qar province in January 2021. According to the Supreme Judicial Council, the officer had been trying to buy a car from the perpetrators, and was lured by the four from Dhi Qar to Najaf, where they shot and killed him, as well as stealing money and a personal gun in his possession..
Iraq is one of the world’s top four executioners after China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International.
Since the rise of ISIS in 2014, thousands of people have been detained across Iraq for suspected links to terrorist groups, including ISIS, while hundreds have been executed.
At least 17 people sentenced to death for terror charges were executed in 2021, reported AFP, while Amnesty recorded 100 executions in Iraq in 2019 - a number that dropped to 45 the following year.
In March, a man was sentenced to death by hanging by Misan Criminal Court, after admitting to kidnapping a civilian and stealing his phones and an amount of money.
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