$Unique_ID{bob00394} $Pretitle{} $Title{Kuwait Chapter 5. The Death Penalty} $Subtitle{} $Author{Amnesty International} $Affiliation{Amnesty International} $Subject{iraqi kuwait amnesty international looting august death executed body penalty} $Date{1990} $Log{} Title: Kuwait Book: Iraq/Occupied Kuwait Human Rights Violations Since 2 August Author: Amnesty International Affiliation: Amnesty International Date: 1990 Chapter 5. The Death Penalty Within a month of the invasion of Kuwait, Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) had passed resolutions introducing the death penalty for three offences: on 11 August for the hoarding of food for commercial purposes; on 14 August for looting; and on 25 August for the harbouring of Western nationals. On 20 November, the RCC reaffirmed in a new resolution that the hoarding of food was punishable by death, apparently in response to the growing effects of the internationally-imposed economic sanctions on Iraq. In line with its usual practice, the Iraqi Government has refrained from making public the number of people executed for these capital offences, although some executions for looting have been officially confirmed [see below]. In this context, it is impossible to assess the extent of the application of the death penalty since the invasion. Furthermore, the information available to date does not enable Amnesty International to assess the extent to which such executions can be considered as 'judicial'. In other words, whether the alleged offender had been granted the opportunity to defend himself against the charges against him, including having access to a defence lawyer, and whether his conviction had been secured following trial procedures which met international standards for fair trial. In the context of the widespread abuses perpetrated by Iraqi forces in Kuwait, which reveal a total disregard for the most fundamental human rights principles, it is Amnesty International's view that the likelihood of any alleged offender receiving a fair trial under such circumstances is indeed remote. In arriving at this conclusion, Amnesty International also takes into account Iraq's past and current record vis-@a-vis the conduct of trials in its own courts. The organization has over a number of years expressed its concerns to the Iraqi authorities about unfair trial procedures which failed to meet not only internationally recognized standards for fair trial, but also those standards set out in Iraq's own domestic legislation. Such deficiencies apply in death penalty cases as well, where defendants have been repeatedly denied access to a defence lawyer while in pre-trial detention, denied the opportunity to speak in their own defence in court or to call witnesses on their behalf, and denied the opportunity to appeal against a death sentence which, in many cases, had been secured on the basis of "confessions" extracted from the defendants under torture. The unfairness of these procedures is most apparent in trials before Iraq's permanent and temporary (ad hoc) special courts, whose decisions by law are final and not subject to appeal [for further details, see Amnesty International's report entitled "The Death Penalty in Iraq: Legal Aspects", published in June 1987]. The RCC's Resolution No. 322, which introduced the death penalty for looting on 14 August, provided that such cases will be heard before a special court, whose decisions are also final and not subject to appeal. To date, Amnesty International has not received any information suggesting that any death sentences have been passed or carried out on individuals accused of hoarding food. Reports that a Kuwaiti man was executed in early September for harbouring a Western national remain unconfirmed. The person in question was said to be among the thousands of Kuwaiti military personnel arrested by Iraqi forces, and may have been executed for other reasons. At least 18 executions for looting, however, have been officially confirmed by Iraq. The first known case was reported on 16 August, two days after the offence became punishable by death. The body of a man said to be an Iraqi soldier was found hanging from a crane in al-Hilali Street, opposite the Muhafazat al-'Asima building [see Appendix D for photograph]. Initial reports suggested he had been publicly hanged, but subsequent accounts from eyewitnesses who saw the body indicated that he had been shot first and then his body was later hung in public as an example to others. The following is one such account given to Amnesty International by a Kuwaiti housewife in her late 30s: "I saw his body that morning [16 August], suspended from a crane near Muhafazat al-'Asima. There was a placard round his neck which read: "This is the punishment for those who steal the riches of the people". Another placard with the same message was placed on the ground beneath the suspended body, together with the goods he was supposed to have stolen. The man had been shot first, and then his body was hung. It remained there for two or three days. His photograph was published in al-Nida'." Another person, a Kuwaiti man in his late 20s, told Amnesty International that he had been present when the body was taken down. He stated that there were several bullet wounds on the body, suggesting that the victim had first been executed by firing squad. The body was removed by the Red Crescent for burial. The name of the victim is not known, and neither is it known whether he had received any form of trial prior to execution. A former lecturer at Kuwait University in her mid-50s remarked to Amnesty International: "They said he was guilty of looting, but that was probably a pretext. How can they execute him for looting when they are all looting openly? I saw myself, on the way from Kuwait to Baghdad, fourteen lorries carrying televisions and other electrical equipment. Maybe that person was an honourable man who dared to say "no" to them, and was executed for it." According to information received by Amnesty International, the photographs of ten other men said to: have been executed for looting were shown on Iraqi television between 17 and 21 August. Among them were Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Egyptian and Syrian nationals. The university lecturer (mentioned above) told Amnesty International: "In the days immediately after the [16 August] execution, Iraqi television announced that others had been executed for looting. They showed their photographs on television. I saw four or six of them. One of them was an Egyptian national employed by the Kuwait Oil Company. A maternal cousin of mine recognized him, but I don't recall his name. On 18 August they showed on television the photograph of another of those executed. He was a Kuwaiti from the al-Hajiri family, also accused of looting. I don't know his first name. On 20 August they showed on television the photographs of other looters." Her account was consistent with those given by several other people interviewed by Amnesty International, including that of a Kuwaiti businesswoman in her late 20s. She also told Amnesty International that one of the Kuwaitis executed was from the al-Hajiri family, that he was 17 years old and was arrested after leaving a diwaniyya and later accused of looting. Further confirmation that executions for looting have been carried out since the invasion of Kuwait was provided by President Saddam Hussein in an interview broadcast on British television on 12 November. In response to a question on human rights violations posed by the interviewer, President Saddam Hussein stated that: " . . . any Iraqi from Baghdad who steals or robs from a house in the province of Kuwait, and is caught red-handed, will be tried. Iraqi law provides for the death penalty in a case of this kind. A number of Iraqis from the province of Baghdad, or they may have been from the province of Basra or maybe from other provinces, were executed because they stole from the homes of the people in Kuwait. This has happened. Why does the British press not talk about this? Because it reflects the just aspect of our position . . . " On 30 November, seven men were publicly hanged in Kuwait after being accused of looting. Iraqi television announced that they had stolen large sums of money in Iraqi dinars, jewellery and electrical appliances from homes in Kuwait. One of Iraq's daily newspapers, al-Jumhuriyya, reported on 1 December that the seven were hanged in the presence of their victims, who were said to have identified them. The names and nationalities of those executed are not known, nor is it known whether they had been tried. A number of Kuwaitis and other nationals interviewed by Amnesty International firmly believe that ostensibly criminal offences, such as looting, were used by the Iraqi authorities as a pretext to execute individuals suspected of `political' offences. In other words, individuals who had taken part in opposition activity against Iraqi forces in Kuwait. In that context, scores of hangings were alleged to have been carried out on the grounds of Kuwait University in late August and early September, while other executions by firing squad were reportedly carried out, sometimes in public, in residential districts of Kuwait City [see Section 6]. Other categories of people feared to have been executed since 2 August are Iraqi soldiers who attempted to desert from the army after their deployment in Kuwait, and Iraqi exiles living in Kuwait and suspected of membership of the opposition group al-Da'wa al-Islamiyya (Islamic Call). Iraqi law provides for the death penalty for both these offences.