Sweden Takes Action After Death Sentence on Three of Its Citizens in Iraq

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that three Swedish citizens have been sentenced to death in Iraq due to their involvement in a shooting incident, and a fourth citizen may also face the same penalty for a different crime. Last month, the government summoned the Iraqi chargé d'affaires to protest against the death penalty given to one of the three involved in the shooting incident. Sweden does not apply the death penalty and opposes it under any circumstances. The Ministry stated that it has received confirmation that two other Swedes have been convicted related to the same crime and will be punished with the death penalty. The ministry added in a statement via email, "The information we received about the death sentences is extremely serious, and we are working to ensure they are not carried out." In June, the newspaper "Aftonbladet" reported that the accused were involved in the shooting of another Swedish citizen in Iraq in January. The ministry noted that it received a report about the sentencing of a fourth Swede to death in a different drug-related crime, but it cannot confirm this information.