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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Criminal Court of Russafa, Baghdad issued on Sunday death sentences against nine people convicted of their participation in the Camp Speicher Massacre, one of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) most brutal crimes in Iraq.
The Supreme Judicial Council said the convicted men confessed to their participation in executing Iraqi air force recruits in 2014.
“The court found sufficient evidence to sentence those convicted in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005,” a statement from the judicial council said.
A 2005 Iraqi law carries the death penalty for anyone convicted of terrorism, which can include membership in an extremist group, even if they are not accused of specific acts.
On June 12, a United Nations team investigating ISIS crimes in Iraq (UNITAD) said it has found “clear and convincing evidence” the massacre at Camp Speicher “constituted a number of war crimes under international law.”
ISIS executed an estimated 1,700 Shiite air force recruits at Camp Speicher near Tikrit on June 12, 2014. The cadets had been undergoing training at Camp Speicher and ISIS militants had initially promised them safe passage. The camp is currently named Majid al-Timimi Air Base and is located about 170 kilometers north of Baghdad.
More than 50 people accused of taking part in the massacre have already been sentenced to death by Iraqi authorities. Thirty-six of them were hanged in August 2016.
International observers have expressed concern about the trials and detention conditions of people held on terror charges, including the use of the death penalty for both Iraqi and foreign nationals convicted of involvement with ISIS, the use of violence and torture in prisons, and overcrowding in facilities holding ISIS suspects and their families.
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