Written question asked by Harry Cohen (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 10 May 2007. It was answered by Ian McCartney (Labour) on Tuesday, 15 May 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq: Administration of Justice

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the Iraqi authorities on the implications for human rights of court proceedings to review sentences handed down which can impose the death penalty on an offender originally sentenced to a custodial sentence.

Answer: All criminal defendants in Iraq can choose to appeal their sentences. A separate panel of judges will then review their case and any relevant submissions made by the defence counsel. Under Iraqi law the appeal court may conclude that a more severe sentence is appropriate and impose the death penalty in cases where this sentence is available.The United Kingdom is firmly against the use of the death penalty in all cases and under any circumstance. Since the Iraqi Interim Government re-introduced the death penalty with effect from 7 August 2004, we have regularly pressed our policy of opposition to the death penalty in all cases and circumstances at the highest level, including with the Iraqi President and Prime Minister.

Secondary information