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Dozens executed in Iraq over IS massacre

August 21, 2016

Iraq has hanged 36 men convicted of being involved in the 2014 Speicher massacre, in which hundreds of army recruits were killed. Rights groups and the UN have criticized Iraq's recent policy of execution fast-tracking.

https://p.dw.com/p/1JmRx
Iraqi soldiers salute as they stand next to a mass grave for Shi'ite soldiers from Camp Speicher who have been killed by Islamic State militants
Iraqi soldiers discovered mass graves of the Shiite recruits killed by IS militantsImage: Reuters/Stringer

Officials in Iraq said they had hanged 36 men on Sunday who were convicted of complicity in an "Islamic State" (IS) massacre of hundreds of soldiers.

The Sunni extremist group captured an estimated 1,700 Shiite army recruits from Camp Speicher, a former US base outside the city of Tikrit. The militants then posted graphic images of the recruits being shot to death. Several mass graves were later found around Tikrit.

Iraqis mourn near body-bags containing the remains of people believed to have been slain by jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group lying on the ground at the Speicher camp
The "Speicher Massacre" is considered one of the worst crimes committed by IS militantsImage: Getty Images/AFP/A. Al-Rubaye

"The executions of 36 convicted over the Speicher crime were carried out this morning in Nasiriyah prison," a spokesman for the governor's office in Dhiqar, the province of which Nasiriyah is the capital, told news agency AFP.

An official with the Justice Ministry confirmed the executions, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he wanted to fast-track the execution of inmates who have been sentenced to death in terrorism cases, following a deadly bomb attack in Baghdad last month.

The blast killed 300 people in Baghdad and was the worst ever single bomb attack to hit the city.

The United Nations and rights groups have criticized the prime minister's policy, citing Iraq's currently weak justice system.

"Fast-tracking executions will only accelerate injustice," said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, earlier this month.

The Speicher massacre is regarded as one of IS's worst crimes since taking over areas of Iraq in 2014. The deaths sparked outrage and partially prompted the mobilization of Shiite militia forces in the fight against IS.

Infografik IS Gebiete 31. März 2016 Englisch

rs/rc (AP, AFP, dpa)