[back]  [www.kulu.dk]


URGENT ACTION:


PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 14/15/00
 

UA 338/00

3 November 2000, IRAQ:

Fear of further extrajudicial executions

Najat Mohammad Haidar (f) and many others


Up to 50 women accused of being prostitutes and men accused of procurement have reportedly been publicly beheaded. The executions were part of a campaign to stamp out prostitution and "immoral crimes".

The executions were reportedly carried out by members of Fida'yi Saddam (Saddam Fighters), a paramilitary group under the control of the Iraqi President's eldest son, 'Uday Saddam Hussain. They took place in various areas of the capital, Baghdad, and other Iraqi cities, and outside the victims' houses. Members of the ruling Ba'th Party and the General Union of Iraqi Women are said to have attended the executions. None of the victims are said to have been charged in accordance with Iraqi law and brought to justice. 

A woman doctor in Baghdad, Najat Mohammad Haidar, was also reportedly beheaded on prostitution charges. No further details are available in her case.

Amnesty International is concerned that scores of women may be arrested and executed as suspected prostitutes.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Although there has been no official confirmation of these executions, the use of beheading as a punishment for prostitution and procurement would mark a change of policy. In 1994 the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), Iraq's highest executive body, introduced a series of decrees which called for amputation of hands and ears, and branding of the forehead, for various criminal offences including theft and army desertion. These punishments were introduced apparently in response to the rising crime rate resulting from worsening economic conditions in Iraq. 


RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/airmail letters in English, arabic or your own language:

• expressing dismay at reports that scores of women and men have been summarily executed by beheading on prostitution and procurement charges;
• expressing dismay at the use of beheading, which constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and is a violation of the right to life;
• urging that no further executions be carried out.

APPEALS TO:

H.E. President Saddam Hussain
President of the Republic
Presidential Palace
Karadat Mariam
Baghdad, Iraq
Telegrams:  President Hussain, Baghdad, Iraq
Telexes:    212299 alqasr ik
Salutation: Your Excellency

H.E. Shabib Lazem al-Maliki
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Baghdad, Iraq
Telegrams:  Justice Minister al-Maliki, Baghdad, Iraq
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of Iraq accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 15 December 2000.

[back]  [www.kulu.dk]