Iraq
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 1
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · In mid-January, Col
- News items in the archive
- 866
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Iraq is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 1 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 866 news items on Iraq, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JULY 17, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Iraq's Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, pulled a pistol...
Iraq's Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station just days before the United States handed control of the country to his interim government, The Sydney Morning Herald reported
- JULY 16, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
"We are an Oriental people and it is the will of the...
"We are an Oriental people and it is the will of the people," said an Iraqi judge who whipped up a storm this week by condemning three men to death even before a ban on capital punishment had been officially lifted
- JULY 15, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Thousands of demonstrators protested in Baghdad and...
Thousands of demonstrators protested in Baghdad and the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala, calling for the death penalty for former president Saddam Hussein
- JULY 13, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz met with his...
Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz met with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiar Zebari in Brussels to dissuade the Iraqi government from using capital punishment
- JULY 12, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
European Union foreign ministers have urged the interim...
European Union foreign ministers have urged the interim Iraqi government not to reinstate the death penalty, which some Baghdad leaders have said could be brought back into force
- JULY 12, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Iraqi interim President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar confirmed...
Iraqi interim President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar confirmed the country would soon reinstate the death penalty, as the European Union voiced its strong opposition to the sentence
- JULY 12, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
One of Iraq's top Shiite politicians, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim,...
One of Iraq's top Shiite politicians, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, said during a visit to Iran that ousted president Saddam Hussein deserved the death penalty for his war against Iran as well as other crimes
- JULY 10, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
About 200 women rallied in the Shiite Muslim holy city...
About 200 women rallied in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf to demand that ousted leader Saddam Hussein be executed for his regime's crimes against Iraq's majority community
- JULY 9, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Wth weapons in their hands, thousands of Shiites, supporters...
Wth weapons in their hands, thousands of Shiites, supporters of rebel leader Moqtada al Sadr, took to the streets of Baghdad, to demand death for Saddam Hussein without a trial
- JULY 8, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
A criminal court in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala...
A criminal court in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala issued the first six death sentences in the country since the toppling of former president Saddam Hussein's regime, local newspaper Al Taakhi reported
- JULY 7, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
With anger mounting that Saddam Hussein had not been...
With anger mounting that Saddam Hussein had not been charged over his invasion of and use of chemical weapons against Iran, Iranian MPs called for the ousted Iraqi dictator to stand before an international court
- JULY 7, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
“We want a restricted death penalty, for a limited time...
“We want a restricted death penalty, for a limited time...
- JULY 5, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
About 3,000 residents of Halabja rallied to demand...
About 3,000 residents of Halabja rallied to demand Saddam Hussein's execution in the town where an estimated 5,000 people were killed in a 1988 gas attack
- JULY 5, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Chairwoman of the German Green Party, Angelika Beer,...
Chairwoman of the German Green Party, Angelika Beer, came out against the death penalty for overthrown Iraqi dictator Saddam Husayn
- JULY 4, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Although Britain was against the death penalty in principle...
Although Britain was against the death penalty in principle and had conveyed this to Iraq, it was not likely to intervene if the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, were to be executed after a proper trial by a sovereign Government
- JULY 3, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Thousands of Shi'a Muslims chanted "Saddam must be...
Thousands of Shi'a Muslims chanted "Saddam must be executed" following Friday prayer services, while Sunnis generally ignored his court appearance - underscoring how differently each community viewed Saddam Hussein and his legacy
- JULY 2, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Defence lawyers for Saddam Hussein said that the first...
Defence lawyers for Saddam Hussein said that the first court appearance of the ousted president was a farce in an illegal court and challenged the legitimacy of Iraq's judicial system which they said was preventing them from going to Baghdad
- JULY 2, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
British defence Secretary Geoff Hoon expressed doubts...
British defence Secretary Geoff Hoon expressed doubts about whether Saddam Hussein should face the death penalty after his trial in Baghdad
- JULY 2, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said executing...
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said executing Saddam Hussein won't make him a martyr and backed the death penalty for the former dictator - if that's what the Iraqi people wanted
- JULY 2, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. PARLIAMENTARY MOTION ON THE DEATH PENALTY IN IRAQ
Vicepresident of the Chambers of Deputy, Alfredo Biondi, presented a parliamentary motion on the death penalty in iraq.
- JULY 1, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Saddam Hussein appeared in court to hear a string of...
Saddam Hussein appeared in court to hear a string of charges for which he could face the death penalty, in a landmark moment for the new Iraq
- JULY 1, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Baghdad's decision to re-establish the death penalty...
Baghdad's decision to re-establish the death penalty ahead of the war crimes trial of Saddam Hussein evoked a mixed reaction in Europe, recalling the split across the continent over the war that toppled the Iraqi leader
- JULY 1, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Saddam Hussein is a "war criminal" who must face capital...
Saddam Hussein is a "war criminal" who must face capital punishment, Kuwait's Information Minister said, referring to the ousted Iraqi president's August 1990 invasion of the emirate
- JULY 1, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani urged the special...
Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani urged the special court which began trying ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in Baghdad not to sentence him to death
- JULY 1, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Saddam Hussein was hauled in front of an Iraqi court...
Saddam Hussein was hauled in front of an Iraqi court just three days after the end of the US-led occupation, but Iraqis were split over whether the aim was a fair trial or revenge
- JULY 1, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
The Labor Party remained opposed to the death penalty...
The Labor Party remained opposed to the death penalty in Australia but would not protest if it was imposed on former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Australia's Opposition Leader Mark Latham said
- JULY 1, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Iraqi Displacement and Migration Minister, Pascale...
Iraqi Displacement and Migration Minister, Pascale Icho Warda, the only Christian minister in the new Iraqi cabinet, said she was in favour of the death penalty for former president Saddam Hussein
- JUNE 30, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will get the death...
Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will get the death penalty if he is found guilty of the serious crimes leveled against him, Iraq's interim Justice Minister Malek Dohan al-Hassan said
- JUNE 30, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
Three Iraqi Kurds convicted over a spate of armed robberies,...
Three Iraqi Kurds convicted over a spate of armed robberies, extortion and rape were hanged publicly in the northern Iranian city of Qazvin, Qods newspaper reported
- JUNE 30, 2004IraqDEATH PENALTY
The Iraqi government approved reinstating the death...
The Iraqi government approved reinstating the death penalty, President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar said in an interview the day the interim authority took legal custody of former president Saddam Hussein