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Iraqi parliament passes anti-terror law
Iraqi lawmakers approved the death penalty Tuesday for anyone financing or "provoking" terrorism. The tough new anti-terrorism law — a response to almost daily suicide bombings and attacks in Iraq — sets capital punishment for "those who commit ... terror acts" as well as "those who provoke, plan, finance and all those who enable terrorists to commit these crimes," according to a text obtained by The Associated Press. Life imprisonment is the punishment for "whoever intentionally conceals terrorist activity or gives shelter to a terrorist for the purpose of hiding him." "We suffer from this terrorism, and at the very least the situation requires a law tough enough to guarantee the safety of the people and government institutions," said Hussein al-Sadr, a lawmaker from the Iraqi List, headed by former prime minister Iyad Allawi. Of 152 lawmakers present, 147 supported the new law. The remaining members of the 275-member house were absent, but it did not appear to be for political reasons. A faction of the ruling Shiite-led coalition walked out of the vote, complaining that the law's concept of terrorism was too broad. The law adopts a "Western conception ... that anything that hints at terrorism is a terrorist act. Islamic conceptions say that the actual use of violence, not the hinting at it, is terrorism, said Nadim Eissa, head of the Shiite Al-Fadila Party. The law defines terrorism as any criminal act against people, institutions or property that "aims to hurt security, stability and national unity and introduce terror, fear or horror among the people and cause chaos." It also cites "activity threatening to spark sectarian differences or civil war ... including by arming citizens or encouraging or financing their arming." The former U.S. governor of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, abolished the death penalty soon after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. But the Iraqis reinstated capital punishment after sovereignty was reinstated a year later so they would have the option of executing deposed dictator Saddam Hussein. Also Tuesday, the Iraqi Central Criminal Court sentenced 28 people — including two Saudis, a Yemeni and an Algerian — found guilty on terrorism charges under the previous laws. Khudeir Abdellah Mahmoud, a Saudi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally entering Iraq to assist terrorists and for conducting terrorist attacks on citizens, the government said in a statement. Three other men convicted of entering Iraq to carry out terrorist acts also were sentenced: Ramshi Ihab Ali Mohammed, an Algerian, for 15 years; and Mohammed Abdellah Saleh, a Saudi, and Anwar Najib Mohammed, from Yemen, for 10 years each. Fouad Sarhan, an Iraqi, received a 10-year sentence for possessing weapons designed to be used for terrorism. The court also sentenced 23 Iraqis convicted of terrorist crimes to prison sentences ranging from six months to seven years. The government statement did not say what attacks the men were involved in. Hundreds of foreign fighters are believed to have entered Iraq to join the insurgency. The United States and Iraq have criticized Syria for allowing that to happen. Other insurgents are believed to have entered Iraq across the borders of Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
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