Politics

Iraq sentences three to death over deadly Basra explosion

The suspects were convicted on charges of participating in a bombing on December 7 that led to the deaths of at least four civilians in Basra.

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/12/24 16:41

A picture shows bystanders near a destroyed car in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after at least four civilians were killed and four more wounded in a motorcycle bombing near a hospital, Dec. 7, 2021. (Photo: Hussein Faleh/AFP)

Iraq Iraq Executions

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced on Thursday that a criminal court had sentenced three individuals to death for their "participation" in a recent deadly bombing in the southern Basra province.

The Basra incident occurred on Dec. 7, when an explosive-laden motorcycle blew up near the capital city's Jimhuria Bridge, killing at least four civilians and injuring many more.

Iraq is among the top world executioners besides China, Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which rights groups regularly criticize for the practice which they believe does not serve those who have been the victims of terrorism.

Another concern of the groups is the way in which confessions are extracted from the suspects, whom usually face torture.

In mid-Dec., the country announced that it had hanged three people over "terrorism charges" at the notorious Nasiriyah Central Prison, which rights groups have previously criticized for its poor conditions.

Iraq executed 50 individuals in 2020 alone, according to Amnesty International.

The country regularly faces outrage from rights groups for the practice. These groups accuse Iraq of "unfair trials and interrogations" as well as torture.

"There is pervasive evidence of flawed terrorism trials in Iraq, which has one of the highest execution rates in the world and where defendants are routinely denied their due process rights," the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in late 2020.

On Monday, the United Nations Assistance Mission Iraq (UNAMI) noted that 2021 "marked the 10th anniversary of Iraq's accession to the Convention against Torture."

"The Committee against Torture will discuss w/ Iraq Government on the steps taken to combat #torture next year (April/May 2022)," UNAMI tweeted.