UN says Iraq plans to execute 50 prisoners as 'part of a larger plan'
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – United Nations independent experts on human rights and international solidarity fears that Iraq plans to execute large numbers of death row prisoners who have been convicted of terrorism-related crimes.
The experts said in a joint statement released on Friday that a recent wave of executions carried against 21 prisoners by Iraqi authorities "appears to be part of a larger plan to execute all prisoners under death row."
The statement added that about 50 prisoners in Iraq face possible execution on Monday.
The European Union and human rights groups have condemned the executions carried out on Monday amid continued and credible claims of unfair trials in which torture is commonly used to extract confessions.
Read More: EU condemns 21 executions in Iraq; HRW claims unfair trials
The UN experts urged Baghdad to immediately halt all mass executions, noting that Iraq had executed 21 prisoners in October and then another 21 on Monday in Nasiriyah Central Prison, also known as al-Hoot Prison.
The experts said that about 4,000 prisoners, most of whom are accused of terrorism, are believed to be on death row in Iraq. Stating that hundreds of executions were likely imminent since their execution warrants had been signed.
UN investigators on torture, arbitrary killing, and the protection of human rights while combating terrorism, have urged the Iraqi government "to respect its international legal obligations and immediately stop further plans to execute prisoners."
They added that trials under Iraq's Anti-Terrorism Law were marked by troubling irregularities, that defendants were often denied their most basic right to obtain an adequate defense, and that their allegations of torture and ill-treatment during interrogation were not properly investigated.
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said that many credible reports allege Iraq's "frequent violations of fair trial rights, ineffective legal representation, overreliance on confessions and frequent allegations of torture.”
Editing by John J. Catherine