EGX kicks off week higher on August 17    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Egypt achieves record primary budget surplus of EGP 629bn despite sharp fall in Suez Canal revenues    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Resumption of production at El Nasr marks strategic step towards localising automotive industry: El-Shimy    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    United Bank achieves EGP 1.51bn net profit in H1 2025, up 26.9% year-on-year    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, bilateral ties in calls with Saudi, South African counterparts    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Iraq calls for execution of terror suspects
Published in The Egyptian Gazette on 02 - 12 - 2010

BAGHDAD – Iraq's interior minister called Thursday for the death penalty for a group of 39 detained al-Qaeda-linked suspects, even before they have been put on trial for allegedly plotting to bomb targets in Baghdad.
Showing off the handcuffed suspects at a Baghdad press conference, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told reporters he is confident the men will be found guilty, citing their alleged confessions, documents and video found at their homes that he said showed their earlier attacks and plans to carry out new ones.
He did not say when the men were arrested, but described them as operatives of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda wing, who were based in Iraq's Sunni-dominated western Anbar province.
"Today, we will send those criminals and the investigation results to the courts that will sentence them to death," al-Bolani, a Shi'ite Muslim, told reporters. "Our demand is not to delay the carrying out of the executions against these criminals so that to deter terrorist and criminal elements."
The prisoners, who were wearing orange jumpsuits, were silent throughout the news conference.
Al-Bolani, who is lobbying to keep his job as Iraq's leaders vie for top ministry posts in the new government, said sentencing the men to death quickly would ensure they are not released by security forces.
He said swift execution, as many Iraqis demand for terrorists, also would serve as a deterrent to insurgents. Al-Bolani wore a black-and-white tribal headdress at Thursday's announcement - a nod to several Anbar sheiks who were in the audience.
His comments appear to belie millions of dollars the US has spent trying to implore the rule of law on Iraq, in part by making sure detainees get a fair trial.
Abdul-Rahman Najim al-Mashhadani, head of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization that has been helping reform Iraq's judicial system, scoffed at al-Bolani's comments and predicted at least some of the suspects would be found not guilty.
"Verdicts should be issued by courts, not by ministers who should be confined to the powers given to them only, especially if they are in the outgoing government," al-Mashhadani said.
Authorities said one of the suspects was tasked with recruiting foreign fighters to launch attacks in Iraq, such as the Oct. 31 siege on a Catholic church in Baghdad that left 68 dead and is believed to have been carried out by men with north African accents.
Iraq had earlier announced the arrests of 14 suspected in the bloody church siege. Officials said those detainees were related to Thursday's 39 suspects only through shared support of al-Qaida.
Al-Bolani said the recruitment was unsuccessful, adding: "Al-Qaeda in Iraq has failed in recruiting non-Iraq or Arab members who used to come from different countries."
His remarks came as the Defense Ministry spokesman announced the capture of a Moroccan fighter in a raid in the northern city of Mosul. The spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari, said two fighters who were killed in the Thursday morning raid were not from Iraq.
Also in Mosul, police and hospitals officials said gunmen killed a young man and an 18-year-old woman in separate attacks in the city, a former al-Qaeda haven. And in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib, police said gunmen killed the wife of a member of the Sahwa, or Awakening Council - a Sunni militia that is backed by the government.
Two employees of Abu Ghraib's water treatment plant were killed and a third was injured in a morning bomb there, police said. And separate rush-hour roadside bombing in Baghdad wounded 12 people, including five policemen, authorities said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
Violence has dropped dramatically but bombings and shootings still occur almost every day, and Iraqi security forces have faced heightened threats across the country as US troops prepare to leave.


Clic here to read the story from its source.