HRW calls for moratorium on mass executions in Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called on the Iraqi government to declare a moratorium on all executions “with a view to abolish the death penalty,” after the emergence of reports of the mass execution of 13 inmates in a prison in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq.

Thirteen men in Nasiriyah’s al-Hout prison were executed on December 25,  in what was the first mass execution since November 2020, when  21 men were executed for terrorism charges, according to HRW's report on the issue.  

“The renewal of mass executions in Iraq is an appalling development,” said Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Iraqi government should immediately declare a moratorium on executions. These tremendous injustices are compounded by well-documented flaws in Iraq’s judicial system that deny defendants a fair trial,” read HRW’s report.

At least 150 inmates in Nasiriyah’s al-Hout prison are facing “imminent execution without warning”, pending ratification from Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, according to HRW. 8000 more prisoners, most charged with terror-related charges, are also believed to be on death row.

Nasiriyah’s executed prisoners were not allowed to consult their lawyers or have a final meeting with their family members, HRW cited an inmate as saying.

Human rights groups have accused Iraq of carrying out hasty trials and denying the defendants their right to a fair trial, with judges reportedly disregarding torture allegations, particularly in cases related to terrorism. HRW said some Iraqi judges have sentenced defendants to death for “mere membership of a terrorist organization.” 

“If the defendant’s fair trial guarantees have been violated, imposition of the death penalty would make the sentence arbitrary,” HRW said in the report.

Since the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014, thousands of people have been detained across Iraq for suspected links to terrorist groups, including ISIS, while hundreds have been executed.

Iraq is the fourth country in the Middle East and North Africa region for the number of executions carried out in 2022, according to a May report by Amnesty International. The country carried out at least 11 recorded executions and handed out at least 41 recorded death sentences in 2022, according to Amnesty. Only Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran recorded more executions.  

According to Article Four of the 2005 Counter-Terrorism Law, anyone found guilty of committing a terror offense is given a death sentence, with life imprisonment given to those who assist or hide those convicted of terrorism.

Iraq also hands out death sentences for drug-related charges. An Iraqi court, earlier this month, issued the death sentence for three people, one convicted for carrying out a deadly car bomb attack in 2007, and two more individuals for drug-related charges.

In September, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani called on President Rashid to ratify all the death sentences related to drug trafficking charges.  

Sudani in May discussed the dangerous spread of narcotics in the country at the first Baghdad Conference on Drug Control, stating that terrorism and drugs are “two sides of the same crime.”