SULAIMANI (ESTA) — An Iraqi court on Tuesday executed death sentence over eight convicts for what the court said they plotted to re-organize the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) inside prison.
Eight inmates were subjected to the death sentence by Rasafah criminal court and had been executed earlier today, said Iraq’s supreme judicial council.
The inmates were indicted for “plotting to flee from the prison and re-organize the ISIS,” it said. “The inmates pleaded guilty in court, and worked to re-appoint new a leader and commander for ISIS and re-establishing ties with the outside operators,” it added.
The decision to execute the death sentence was issued in accordance with the anti-terror laws, according to the Iraq’s judicial authority.
Since Baghdad officially declared victory over ISIS in 2017, Iraqi courts have sentenced hundreds to death for crimes perpetrated by the militants who had set up a “caliphate” in territory seized in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Only a small proportion of the sentences have been carried out, as they must be approved by the president.
Rights group Amnesty International says it recorded more than 45 executions in Iraq in 2020, including many of people accused of belonging to Islamic State (ISIS).
A 2005 law carries the death penalty for anyone convicted of “terrorism,” which can include membership of an extremist group even if they are not convicted of any specific acts.
Rights groups accuse Iraq’s justice system of corruption, carrying out rushed trials on circumstantial evidence and failing to allow the accused a proper defense.
