835 await execution in Iraqi prisons
By IANSTuesday, December 14, 2010
Baghdad, Dec 14 (IANS/AKI) More than 800 people in Iraq are on death row awaiting execution, said Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani.
Speaking at a press conference on anti-terrorism measures Monday, Bolani said Iraqi courts have sentenced 14,500 people accused of terror crimes. Those who aren’t sentenced to die have been given life sentences, he said, adding that 835 people were on death row in the country.
“The government is trying to serve justice,” Bolani said.
Between 2005 and 2009, 230 people have been executed, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in July.
The death penalty was reinstated following a brief moratorium after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki supports the death penalty, while President Jalal Talabani opposes its application.
–IANS/AKI
