In August 2021, UNAMI
released a report revealing
interviews with more than 200
death row detainees, over half
of whom shared ‘credible
allegations of torture’ (Human
Rights Watch 2021). These
interviews further revealed
how detainees were
frequently not allowed to see
a judge, refused access to a
lawyer, and families of
detainees were often not
noti ed or able to
communicate with those
detained.
Nasiriyah Central Prison, commonly known as al-Hoot prison, where many
death row prisoners are held, under terrible conditions
Foreign Nationals
Foreign nationals are frequently sentenced to
death in Iraq, often for terrorism, drug-related
crimes, or smuggling artefacts.
Organisations such as Human Rights Watch
have criticised Iraq for carrying out trials
without suf cient evidence or based on
confessions obtained under torture. Torture
of prisoners in Iraq is a common complaint.
Many dual nationals are also sentenced to
death in Iraq for terrorism offences, such as
being a member of ISIS. This is often after
being transferred into Iraqi territory by US
forces, following capture elsewhere in the
region. This affects a large number of EU
nationals as well as those from other parts of
the Middle East.
Drug Offences
Although no executions for drug offences
have been carried out in the past ve years,
Iraq continues to hand out death sentences
for drug offences. In June 2023, an Iraqi court
sentenced eight people to death for
possession of opium, two of whom were
foreign nationals.
Acknowledgements
With special thanks to Lama Karamé and Francesca Rigg for their assistance with this research in Iraq.
Death Penalty Research Unit, University of Oxford
For more research see:
fi
fi
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foreign-nationals.uwazi.io or tinyurl.com/mappingdeathrow