Latest news with #Saddam-era
Shafaq News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Justice for Feyli Kurds: Dracula of the Baath sentenced to death
Shafaq News/ Iraq handed down two death sentences on Thursday, including one against a former Saddam-era intelligence officer accused of leading brutal campaigns. A security source told Shafaq News that Iraq's High Criminal Court sentenced Khairallah Hammadi Abdullah Jaro al-Naseri, a top Baathist official known for overseeing repression against Feyli Kurds, to death by hanging after being captured by the National Security Service earlier this year. He reportedly confessed, in the presence of victims' families, to directing executions, forced disappearances, torture, and mass burials. Dubbed 'the Dracula of the Baath,' al-Naseri operated across Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region and was long considered one of the regime's most brutal enforcers. His conviction is seen as a 'major milestone' in Iraq's pursuit of the so-called ' Group of Five '—a list of key Baathist fugitives. Separately, the Criminal Court in Najaf handed a double death sentence to an ISIS fighter convicted of killing two police officers, injuring others during interrogation, and torching civilian vehicles to incite fear and destabilize the province, the Supreme Judicial Council stated.
Shafaq News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Leader Barzani: Halabja a proud victory for Kurdistan
Shafaq News/ Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Monday thanked the Iraqi parliament's leadership and political blocs for their 'constructive role' in passing the law to designate Halabja as the 19th Iraqi province. 'To the people of Halabja and all of Kurdistan, I extend my warmest congratulations … We hope this milestone brings improved services and development to Halabja and eases the pain its people have long endured,' Barzani said, acknowledging the efforts of all those involved in advancing the proposal and paid tribute to victims of the 1988 chemical attack. The decision caps a decades-long campaign by Kurdish leaders seeking justice and administrative recognition for Halabja, which became a symbol of Kurdish suffering after the Saddam-era chemical attack that killed thousands.
Shafaq News
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Exclusive: Shafaq News unveils details of Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr's killers
Shafaq News/ A security source revealed, on Friday, detailed information about the killers of religious figure Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr and his sister. Earlier today, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, announced the arrest of those responsible for the killing of Al-Sadr, who was executed along with his sister in 1980 by the former regime. According to the source, the executioner, Saadoun Sabri Jamil Jumaa Al-Qaisi, born in 1947, held several significant positions during the former regime, including Director of State Security, Director of Security in Basra and Najaf, Director of Security in Kuwait following its invasion by the former regime, and Director of Economic Security. The source added that Al-Qaisi, known to security forces as "Colonel Zuhair," was also responsible for the massacre of Iraqi merchants during the economic sanctions period. Investigations revealed that "Al-Qaisi and his assistant, Adel Ibrahim Al-Athami, took religious figure Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr and his sister Bint Al-Huda to the location currently known as Bismayah, south of Baghdad, where they executed them." The source confirmed that A-Qaisi personally carried out the execution of al-Sadr, while al-Athami executed Bint Al-Huda, adding that "Al-Qaisi is the only one who knows the location of her burial." Al-Qaisi fled to Syria after the Baathist regime's fall in 2003, changing his name to "Hajj Saleh," before returning to Iraq and settling in Erbil on February 26, 2023, according to the source. In a post on his X account, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani emphasized that the capture of Al-Sadr's killers highlights the importance of 'leaving no room for impunity.' Al-Sudani pointed out that, 'the recent achievement of justice through the apprehension of key figures from the criminal repressive apparatus of the Saddam-era Ba'athist regime' reaffirms the steadfast commitment to the relentless pursuit of criminals, 'no matter how long they evade justice.' Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr is considered one of the most prominent religious, intellectual, and political Shiite figures in modern times, as well as the founder of the Islamic Dawa Party. He was a leading opponent of the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
