Iraq's Revolution Command Council [RCC] issued a decree...

Iraq's Revolution Command Council [RCC] issued a decree stipulating that any person who commits theft as stated in Penal Code No 11 of 1969, using weapons in wartime, shall be executed. It noted that other penalties as stated in the Penal Code shall be implemented if the theft is committed without the use of weapons. In case the crime is repeated, the punishment shall be execution, the RCC decree said.
The Penal Code Act No 11 of 1969 establishes a penalty of amputation of the right hand for theft, and further states that "the penalty shall be death instead of amputation if the theft is committed by a person carrying a visible or concealed weapon or if the offence leads to the death of a person."