Amnesty International - "Iraq: Over 900 people on death row..."

By John Ballard

Lest we get warm and fuzzy about America's success in Iraq, a look at Iraq Today is a head-snapping corrective. Mounting casualties and security incidents in the Afghanistan Adventure are also being tracked here. I keep a link to the site but find it depressing so I rarely look at it.

A dedicated group of bloggers began tracking violence there in 2003 (originally "Today in Iraq") and has stayed on task ever since. The original banner tag line was "There are some who, uh, feel like that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is: Bring 'em on. We got the force necessary to deal with the security situation. � - George W. Bush, July 2, 2003.

This from Amnesty International was linked there yesterday.

Iraq: Over 900 people on death row face imminent execution

The Iraqi authorities must immediately stop the executions of more than 900 people on death row who have exhausted their legal appeals and could be put to death at any time, Amnesty International said.

The prisoners, who include 17 women, are said to have had their death sentences ratified by the Presidential Council, the final step before executions are carried out.

At least 120 people are known to have been executed in Iraq so far this year.

�In a country which already has one of the highest rates of execution in the world, the prospect that this statistic may rise significantly is disturbing indeed,� said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International�s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Many of the condemned prisoners have been convicted of offences such as murder and kidnapping. Some are likely to have been sentenced after unfair trials.

Opposition politicians have expressed concern that executions may be carried out to allow the ruling al-Da�wa party to gain political advantage ahead of the elections. They have called on the government to temporarily suspend all executions.

[...]

Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in August 2004, at least 1,000 people have been sentenced to death and scores have been executed. There are no official figures for the number of prisoners facing execution.

After all avenues of appeal have been exhausted, death sentences are referred to the Presidential Council composed of the President and the two Vice-Presidents, for ratification, after which they are carried out.

The President, Jalal Talabani, opposes the death penalty and delegates his ratification powers to the two Vice-Presidents, who do not oppose its use.

Amnesty International has repeatedly urged the Iraqi authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on executions.

"The Iraqi government must heed international demands to stop executions," said Philip Luther.

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Representative Democracy is a wonderful system, no?

Perhaps we can replicate the success in Afghanistan, no?

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Incidentally, today is the "date which will live in infamy."  War is the enterprise with which we display our greatest imagination defending our highest principles and aspirations.