The Common Ills: UNHCHR condemns executions in Iraq

Friday, October 11, 2013

UNHCHR condemns executions in Iraq

Next week will be the tenth month of continuous protests in Iraq -- not that this will be noted by the non-Iraqi press. The foreign press ignores over nine months of continuous protests. Protests have been taking place non-stop since December 21st. Iraqi Spring MC reports that protests took place in Samarra today, Baquba, Jalawla, Falluja, Ramadi, Mosul, and Balad Ruz.   Gwynne Dyer (Columbus Dispatch) notes today:

Mass Sunni protests began almost a year ago, and until last April they were almost entirely nonviolent. Sunni terrorists belonging to al-Qaida-related jihadist organizations — another byproduct of the American occupation — were killing about 300 Shias a month, but they had little support in the broader Sunni community.
Then in April the Iraqi (i.e. Shia) army raided a peaceful protest camp in Hawijah, killing about 50 Sunnis, and suddenly the violent minority of Sunni jihadists came to be seen as defenders of Sunni rights.

Dyer's referring to the April 23rd massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from Nouri's federal forces storming in. Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.   AFP reported 53 dead for several days now -- indicating that some of the wounded did not recover. UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).

As noted in yesterday's snapshot, the 42 executions in Iraq this week brought the total to 132 for the year so far, three more than were executed in Iraq in 2012. UN Humans Rights Office spokesperson Rupert Colville declared today:

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has repeatedly stressed, after earlier mass executions in 2012 and 2013, that the justice system in Iraq is "too seriously flawed to warrant even a limited application of the death penalty, let alone dozens of executions at a time." Large-scale executions of the sort that have been carried out on a number of occasions over the past two years in Iraq are not only obscene and inhuman, they are most probably in contravention of international law. They are also undermining efforts to build a more stable, less violent society in Iraq. The mass execution carried out over the past two days is particularly perverse given that yesterday was World Day Against the Death Penalty.

Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 362 violent deaths so far this month.   Today?
All Iraq News reports 1 man (alleged to be former al Qaeda) was shot dead in Ramadi, 1 person distributing food was shot dead in Falluja, and 1 police officer was shot dead In Mosul. Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) reports a Baghdad bombing targeting a car lot claimed 3 lives and left nine people injured. Alsumaria adds that late last night 1 doctor was shot dead in Mosul.

The following community sites -- plus ACLU, Pacifica Evening News and Antiwar.com -- updated last night and this morning: