Morocco requests Iraq to halt executions

Morocco made an official demand to Iraqi authorities Saturday to stop the executions of Moroccan citizens in Iraq. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry called the Iraqi Ambassador in Rabat to deliver a high priority message from Moroccan Foreign Minister Saadeddine al-Othmani to his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiar Zibari. An official source said that the issue wil be discussed at the 12th ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to be held on August 14 and 15 in Mecca. Meanwhile, Nasser Bourita, Secretary General of the Moroccan Foreign Ministry received Iraqi Ambassador in Rabat Hazem Ahmed Mahmoud. The Iraqi authorities are planning to carry out court verdicts of execution against a number of Arab detainees, among them 12 Moroccans at the end of the current Ramadan. The detainees, called the Moroccans of Iraq, informed their families that the Iraqi authorities have decided to carry out the death sentences less than a year after the execution of Moroccan detainee Badr al-Ashouri. Those sentenced with the death penalty will be killed by hanging for crimes including alleged involvement in terrorist attacks and other crimes during the period of 2006 and 2007 according to the Tunisian newspaper "Assabah". Abdelaziz al-Bakkali, head of the Co-ordination of Families of Moroccan Prisoners and Missing Nationals in Iraq said “three detainees called their families and informed them that the Iraqi authorities will carry out the execution of Moroccan detainees in addition to other Arabs”, adding that the detainees to be executed lost contact with their families since last week when they called them to inform them of the decision. Among those detainees is Mohamed Eloshen whose brother said that Mohamed called them last Wednesday and told that Iraqi authorities will execute him in addition to other prisoners by the end of this month. Amnesty International had called on Iraqi authorities Friday to stop the “alarming rate of executions” which included at least 70 convicted persons since last year. The organisation mentioned in a statement that “Iraqi authorities must move quickly to commute all death sentences” and “halt the country’s alarming rate of executions”.