[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

IRAQ:


IRAQI FORMER MP SENTENCED TO DEATH

A former member of Iraq’s Council of Representatives (Parliament) has been 
sentenced to death after
a trial marred with irregularities. He has a month to appeal.

View the full Urgent Action, including case information, addresses and 
sample messages, here.

Ahmed al-‘Alwani, a prominent member of the secular political party 
al-Iraqiya bloc, was sentenced
to death on 23 November by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) in 
Baghdad for the killing of
two soldiers. He had been charged with “assaulting military assets and 
killing and injuring security
forces for terrorist ends”, under Article 4 of the 2005 Anti-Terrorism 
Law.

Since his arrest on 28 December 2013 Ahmed al-‘Alwani has been denied 
access to his lawyer and
family. In court, his former lawyer was not allowed to cross-examine the 
prosecution witnesses or
ask questions as they were deemed “not productive” by the court. The court 
refused to record his
questions in the minutes of the hearing. His former lawyer was intimidated 
on several occasions
until he withdrew from the case. The lawyer was arrested in March before a 
planned meeting with
officials of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). He 
was blindfolded for 12 hours
and questioned about his motives for defending Ahmed al-‘Alwani. Amnesty 
International urged the
government in May to stop intimidating him, but he said that the court’s 
presiding judge later
threatened him with arrest if he did not withdraw from the case. Another 
lawyer then was appointed
to represent Ahmed al-‘Alwani.

Ahmed al-‘Alwani has a month to appeal against the death sentence. Iraq is 
one of the world’s
leading executioners. Since 2005 the vast majority of those executed have 
been sentenced to death
for terrorism-related offences, in most cases after grossly unfair trials.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Ahmed al-‘Alwani was arrested on 28 December 2013 when the security forces 
exchanged gunfire with
his private security guards when they came to arrest his brother, Ali 
al-‘Alwani.

View the full Urgent Action here.

Name: Ahmed al-‘Alwani (m)
Issues: Death penalty, Unfair trial, Incommunicado detention
UA: 300/14
Issue Date: 26 November 2014
Country: Iraq

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to uan at aiusa.org with "UA 300/14" in the subject 
line, and include in the
body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent,

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action.

Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action 
Office if sending appeals
after the below date. If you receive a response from a government 
official, please forward it to us
at uan at aiusa.org or to the Urgent Action Office address below.


HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please write immediately in English or Arabic:
  *  Urging the authorities to commute the death sentence imposed on Ahmed 
al-‘Alwani;
  *  Expressing concern that Ahmed al-‘Alwani was sentenced to death after 
proceedings that fell
     short of international standards for fair trial;
  *  Urging the authorities to declare an official moratorium on executions 
with a view to abolishing
     the death penalty, and commute without delay all outstanding death 
sentences.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 7 JANUARY 2015 TO:

President
(Send appeals to the representative of Iraq in your country, addressed to 
the president)
Fuad M’asum
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma’aridh)
Baghdad
Iraq
Salutation: Dear Mr President


Minister of Human Rights
Mohamed Mahdi Al-Bayati
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma’aridh)
Baghdad
Iraq
Email: ministeroffice at humanrights.gov.iq
Salutation: Dear Minister




And copies to:
Minster of Justice
Dr Haidar al-Zamli
Convention Centre (Qasr al-Ma’aridh)
Baghdad
Iraq
Email: minister_moj at moj.gov.iq



Also send copies to:
Ambassador Lukman Faily, Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
3421 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone:  1 202 742 1600 EXT 136  I  Fax:  1 202 333 1129  I  Email: 
ambassadoroffice at iraqiembassy.us

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UA Network Office AIUSA │600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003
T. 202.509.8193 │ F. 202.509.8193 │E. uan at aiusa.org 
│amnestyusa.org/urgent


(source: Amnesty International)