BAGHDAD, Aug. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The Iraqi government on Sunday defended its decision to reinstate the death penalty, saying it is a must to guarantee security.
"I understand the position of international organizations such as the United Nation, which is against the death penalty," government spokesman Leith Kubba told reporters.
"But we want a sentence which punishes the person who commits murder crime," he insisted.
UN special envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qazi on Saturday urged the Iraqi government to withdraw from the country's first executions since 2003 which will take place in the next few days.
Iraq's Vice President Adel Abdel Mehdi has authorized on Wednesday the execution of three men for kidnapping policemen and raping Iraqi women.
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