Twenty-six people executed so far this week in Iraq
Those executed included three Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights; total executed this year at almost 100
Amnesty International has called on the authorities in Iraq to halt all executions in the country following reports that 26 people were executed in Iraq this week, amid growing fears that others might be executed in the coming days.
A spokesman from Iraq’s Ministry of Justice reportedly announced that on Wednesday (29 August) five people were executed, while two days earlier 21 people were executed in a single day, including three Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights.
Amnesty has spoken to Iraqi human rights activists who have confirmed that three Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights aged between 23 and 49 - one of them convicted for terrorism-related offences and the others for murder - were among those executed this week
These latest executions bring the total number of people executed in Iraq this year to at least 96, a significant and worrying increase compared to last year when 68 people executions were recorded in the country by Amnesty.
Since the death penalty was reintroduced in Iraq in 2004, hundreds of people have been sentenced to death and are now on death row.
Many of the trials of those sentenced to death have failed to meet international fair trial standards, including by allowing “confessions” obtained under torture or other ill-treatment to be used as evidence against those accused. Some Iraqi television stations continue to broadcast self-incriminating testimonies of detainees even before the opening of a trial, undermining the fundamental right of defendants to be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Amnesty is urging the Iraqi authorities to refrain from any further use of the death penalty, to commute all death sentences to terms of imprisonment and to declare a moratorium on executions.
This year, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions have both called for the establishment of a moratorium on the death penalty in Iraq.
Amnesty opposes the death penalty - the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment - in all cases without exception, as a violation of the right to life.