Twenty-one men sentenced to death for terrorism were executed yesterday in the Nassiriya prison, in Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province.

According to the local reports, the killed had all been convicted under a 2005 Counter-Terrorism Law, which carries the death penalty.

The sentencing on terrorism is known, but there were no details on their specific crimes.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Iraq. It was commonly used by the government of Saddam Hussein, who was himself ultimately executed, was temporarily halted after the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq that deposed Hussein, and has since been reinstated.

Iraqi law states that no person over the age of 70 can be executed; however there have been instances in which this provision was violated, such as Tariq Aziz, who was sentenced to death at the age of 74.

Iraq ranks fifth among countries that carry out death sentences, according to Amnesty International, which documented 100 executions in the country in 2019. (ILKHA)