EU "DISTURBED" BY IRAQ EXECUTIONS, CALLS FOR FREEZE

19 people - 18 men, one woman - were hanged, a fact that was never officially announced or reported. The deaths only became known after information later leaked out. On June 15, the European Union protested against reported executions in Iraq and called on Baghdad to resume a moratorium on the death penalty. "The European Union is deeply disturbed at reports that in recent days further death sentences were carried out in Iraq, probably totalling number 20," the Czech EU presidency said. "Moreover, the European Union is severely alarmed about indications that further mass executions might be imminent," the EU said in a statement. The presidency did not specify which executions it referred to. A Czech official told Reuters that EU diplomatic sources in Baghdad had information of recent executions but gave no details.