A senior Iraqi justice ministry official said that the country had conducted 14 executions in a single day this week, as most of them were members of Al-Qaeda. This has now brought the total number of executions this year to 65. The government person speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that on Tuesday fourteen Iraqis were executed. The official said further that the executed men were convicted on charges of terrorism and other crimes which were conducted during the period between 2006 and 2007. Most of these men belonged to Al Qaeda, which also included the leader from Mosul. The number of hangings conducted at the beginning of this year has brought the total close to 68, the toll from last year. The Justice Minister of the country, Hassan al-Shammari, was quoted as saying in a statement, that on January 31 some 17 people were executed. Before the executions on January 31, the ministry spokesman, Haider al-Saadi was quoted as saying that the Iraqi authorities had so far hanged 34 people in 2012 that included a Syrian and women too.

Navi Pillay, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, has expressed her dismay and shock over the number of executions. She also criticized the lack of transparency present in the court proceedings and strongly demanded to bring an immediate halt to the death penalty in the country. Last month she said that she immediately demanded the government of Iraq to impose a moratorium on the death penalty in the country.

A judge of the South African court, Pillay, said that even the best fair trail standards were implemented, still this number of executions was simply terrifying.

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