An official Justice Ministry source said that based...

An official Justice Ministry source said that based on the provisions of Article 26 of the interim Iraqi State Administration Law, the Council of Ministers had decided to reinstate the death penalty and to start applying it at the courts of the Justice Ministry. The death sentence was to be reapplied to preserve the lives of citizens and to protect Iraqi human rights and Iraq's internal security. The source added that the Council of Ministers decided to reinstate the death penalty, which was stipulated in the Iraqi Penal Code No 111 for 1969, against those who committed crimes encroaching upon the internal security of the state; crimes that posed danger to the public, such as the use of biological or chemical materials which could cause genocide; premeditated murder; and crimes specified in the first paragraph of Article 14 of the Narcotics Law concerning drug trafficking.