Global Security Newswire

Those who commit crimes ranging from drug trafficking murder to the use of biological weapons in Iraq could again face execution, the country’s interim government said Sunday in reinstating capital punishment (see GSN, Aug. 3).

“Yesterday we announced an amnesty. Today the death penalty.  Choose one of them,” said government spokesman Gurgis Sada. The law took effect immediately, according to Agence France-Presse.

Mass killings, strikes against the country’s vital infrastructure and biological warfare are explicitly listed as capital crimes under the new law, according to Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim.

The law applies to both Iraqi citizens and foreigners who commit those crimes on Iraqi territory, said Minister of State Adnan al-Janabi.

“Iraqis want to see those who are committing crimes to be punished. ... Ask the Iraqi people if they want this and they will give you the answer,” he said.

The death penalty was used under the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein, but was abolished by the U.S.-led occupation authority (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 9).