Iraq issues death sentences in al-Sadr assassination case

Shafaq News – Baghdad

An Iraqi criminal court on Monday sentenced two men to death for their involvement in the 1980 assassination of prominent Shiite cleric Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister, Bint al-Huda, during the rule of Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi National Security Service said in a statement received by Shafaq News that the court convicted Saadoun Sabir and Haitham Abdulaziz of participating in the killing, which also targeted members of the Islamic Dawa Party and other civilians.

The statement described the ruling as part of Iraq’s broader transitional justice efforts, adding that the agency had arrested the suspects and conducted investigations under judicial supervision.

Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al‑Sadr (1935–1980) was a leading Shiite cleric, philosopher, and founder of the Islamic Dawa Party, a major opposition force to Saddam Hussein’s regime. After Saddam was deposed in 2003, Iraq established the Iraqi Special Tribunal (later the Iraqi High Tribunal) to prosecute regime-era crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.