An Iraqi opposition organization reported that new...

An Iraqi opposition organization reported that new executions were carried out by the authorities after the visit to Iraq of UN rapporteur on human rights Andreas Mavromatis in February and after his call to the regime to put an end to these executions and reduce the number of accusations which bring about this punishment.
In a statement of which Al-Sharq al-Awsat received a copy, the Iraqi Communist Party's Human Rights Office said that the authorities executed 17 people in March. The statement said that "in early March, the authorities executed five citizens from the village of Al-Wahhabi in Al-Najaf Governorate" on charges of clashing with police units and taking part with the villagers in the killing of a member of the ruling party and a policeman."
According to the statement, the police arrested the five in December during a raid on the village of Al-Wahhabi while searching for draft evaders. The statement added that four inmates of the Abu-Ghurayb Prison near Baghdad were executed on 15 March. On 21 March eight citizens from Al-Muthanna Governorate were executed, the statement added.