UN calls on Iraq to immediately suspend death penalty

UN calls on Iraq to immediately suspend death penalty

The Iraqi “Ministry of Human Rights” informed the UN about the execution of 34 people in a single day, Thursday January 19th. Shocked UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mrs Navi Pillay called the Iraqi authorities for an immediate suspension of the death penalty there.

Spokesman of Iraq’s justice ministry Haidar al-Saadi confirmed that the executions took place, without elaborating. In Iraq, the death penalty can be applied to 48 types of crime, including damage to public property in some cases. Since 2004, more than 1,200 people have been sentenced to death and at least 63 executions since November 16.