How Death Row Is Different Around The World
6. Iraq
Following the deposition of Saddam Hussein, executions were temporarily halted in Iraq, but since 2004 they have returned to the table. Particularly prevalent on Iraq’s modern death rows are those arrested for terrorism; per UN experts these make up the bulk of the approximately 4,000 prisoners currently awaiting execution.
Unlike other nations in the Middle East (and beyond), Iraq is fairly forthright with its statistics. Execution numbers are well reported, and make for startling reading. The government’s prerogative is mass executions, with enemies of the state and ISIS operatives frequently targeted for high profile death.
The swift and systematic nature of Iraq’s process has come under criticism elsewhere in the world. “Terrorism” can be a loosely defined term, and there have been those executed without having been involved in any specifically violent or harmful acts.
Indeed executions are an almost explicitly political act in Iraq, with top ministers finding themselves on the wrong end of the rope - most famously Saddam Hussein himself.