Following yesterday’s announcement of a Saddam aide’s execution, Amnesty International again called on the Iraqi government to end capital punishment. They criticized the surge in executions and warned of more to come. Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch similarly complained that Iraqi officials apparently have a "green light to execute at will."
At least 70 people have been officially executed this year according to the Justice Ministry. That’s more than in all of 2011. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch would like to see all current death sentences commuted immediately.
At least 12 Iraqis were killed and 17 more were wounded in the latest violence:
In Baghdad, gunmen killed a colonel and his wife in their car; their three children were wounded. Gunmen separately killed an aide to the deputy speaker.
Three policemen were killed and three more were wounded in a roadside blast in Garma.
A bomb in Balad Ruz killed a soldier and wounded four others. Another bombing left one civilian dead and two wounded.
In Mosul, a roadside bomb wounded two policemen. Gunmen killed a policeman.
A device found in Dujail exploded, killing a policeman and wounding an explosives expert.
A soldier was killed in a Kirkuk drive-by shooting.
A policeman was shot dead in Falluja.
Gunmen wounded two policemen at a checkpoint near Ramadi.
