13 people sentenced to death for terrorism by Baghdad court

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Thirteen people have been sentenced to death after confessing to their association with the Islamic State (ISIS), according to a statement from the Supreme Judicial Council. 

The statement published by the Supreme Judicial Council said that the Karkh criminal court in Baghdad issued a death sentence to 13 people for being part of ISIS and upon their confessions on intending to carry out terrorist attacks during the Ramadan of 2019.

The statement added they were sentenced in accordance with the 2005 Counter-Terrorism Law.

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

Iraq is one of the world’s top four executioners, after China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International, which recorded 100 executions in the country in 2019.

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 41,049 people are imprisoned in Iraq, including 22,380 convicted on terror-related charges, according to a document obtained by Rudaw on January 17 from the Ministry of Justice's Iraqi Reform Department.

Several terror convicts have been hanged in recent months.