Iraq executes 23 prisoners
9 Oct 2012 5:45 AM IST
Iraq has executed 23 convicted prisoners in the past five days, six of which were carried out on Monday, the government said.
All of them were executed by hanging, Xinhua quoted the justice ministry as saying. So far this year, 102 prisoners, including five female terrorists, were executed.
The UN, the European Union and global human rights groups have urged Iraq to stop the use of capital punishment, criticising lack of transparency in the court proceedings.
Death penalty in Iraq was suspended for over a year after the US-led invasion of the country. Paul Bremer, then US administrator for Iraq, suspended its use 10 June 2003.
However, the Iraqi government reinstated the capital punishment 8 August 2004, saying it will curb the widespread violence in the country.
Since then, scores of people have been executed, including the toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
All of them were executed by hanging, Xinhua quoted the justice ministry as saying. So far this year, 102 prisoners, including five female terrorists, were executed.
The UN, the European Union and global human rights groups have urged Iraq to stop the use of capital punishment, criticising lack of transparency in the court proceedings.
Death penalty in Iraq was suspended for over a year after the US-led invasion of the country. Paul Bremer, then US administrator for Iraq, suspended its use 10 June 2003.
However, the Iraqi government reinstated the capital punishment 8 August 2004, saying it will curb the widespread violence in the country.
Since then, scores of people have been executed, including the toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
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