Iraq officials asked to halt death penalty

Amnesty International is urging Iraqi authorities to halt the execution of five former officials of the Saddam Hussein regime. The five senior officials, all convicted of crimes against humanity by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, were handed over from United States to Iraqi custody last week, and could face execution with the next month, Amnesty International said in a release. A Ministry of Justice official said he expected certification of death sentences for the five men within days. In a plea to end the use of the death penalty in Iraq, Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Director for the Middle East and North Africa said: "These men must not be executed. The Iraqi authorities should commute these and all other death sentences and declare an immediate moratorium on executions." Amnesty International has questioned Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal trials -- created to hold Saddam Hussein and others accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during his rule -- stating that the Iraqi presidency has approved 81 of a total 516 death sentences submitted for ratification since 2009. "While the Iraqi authorities have a responsibility to bring to justice those responsible for the gross human rights crimes committed under Saddam Hussein, they must not use the death penalty under any circumstances. It is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment" Smart said.