IRAQ HANDS DEATH SENTENCE TO EX-BAATH OFFICER OVER BARZANI CRIMES

December 28, 2025:

Iraq’s High Criminal Court on December 28, 2025 sentenced former Baath-era security commander Shaker Ghafour Al-Douri to death after convicting him of participating in mass executions targeting Kurdish Barzani civilians.
According to a court statement, the operations targeted men, women, and children, with victims buried in mass graves, including a site in Al-Saqlawiyah, in western Al-Anbar province.
The crimes formed part of the Anfal campaign, a series of military operations launched by Saddam Hussein’s government between 1986 and 1989 against Kurdish populations. On May 3, 2011, the court classified the campaign as genocide and a crime against humanity.