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Al-Maliki Rejects Stays Of Execution For 1,000 Prisoners
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has turned down national, Arab and international appeals to postpone the execution of 1,000 prisoners sentenced to death by Iraqi courts until after the elections, for fear that he would use the mass execution in his elections campaign as he escalates the attack on the Ba’thists.
Among those sentenced to death are eight aides to Saddam Hussein, and another 150 who have exhausted all channels of appeal.
Families of the victims, many of them from Al-Da’wa Party, held a festive gathering calling for the execution of those who had committed crimes against members of their families.
The final authority for execution of prisoners in Iraq is in the hands of President Jalal Talabani, who in principle refuses to sign execution orders.
[Al-Maiki’s insistence on execution is meaningless but serves to portray him as a strong leader who favors law and order.]
Source: Al-Zaman, Iraq, November 2, 2009
Posted at: 2009-11-02
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