Good News From Iraq

Release A060607a
CCCI convicts 17 insurgents
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 17 security detainees May 24 through May 30 for various crimes, including murder and possessing illegal weapons.

The trial court found Amer Hammad Nahar guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after searching two vehicles and a house where they found 10 RPG rockets, four RPG launchers, two RPK's with ammunition, improvised explosive device making materials and six AK-47 rifles.

The trial court found Abed Alrahman Wasif, a Syrian, guilty of violating Article 10 of the Iraqi Passport Law and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him for confessing that he came to Iraq to fight Jihad.

The trial court found Mohammed Hassan Ramdan guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after searching his home where they found two Chinese rockets, two homemade grenades and a rocket-propelled grenade.

The trial court found Ali Hassas Ali guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to six years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after searching his house where they found a shotgun, shotgun shells, seven mortar base plates, IED-making material and one camcorder. The camcorder contained videotape of insurgents firing mortars and burning a Coalition forces vehicle.

The trial court found Mohamed Fadel Shimran guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to six years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after watching him make a suspicious turn in a vehicle. Coalition forces stopped the vehicle and found nine 60 mm mortar rounds in the trunk.

The trial court found Ghazwan Haider Fadel and Mohamed Hussien Salih guilty of violating Article 345 of the Iraqi Penal Code for using explosives and sentenced them to six years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended both defendants after they were attacked by an IED. One defendant placed a bag marked “feed” in the middle of the road. The bag exploded as Coalition forces approached and both defendants attempted to flee.

The trial court found Osman Omaeir Ali guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to three years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after they found him with a Dragunov sniper rifle, a night-vision scope and nine armor-piercing rounds, all hidden under a blanket concealed between the rear window and the headrests. Coalition forces also found a cell phone and 55,000 Iraqi Dinars.

The trial court found Amer Ali Hussein guilty of violating Article 405 of the IPC for murder and sentenced him to three years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after they were sent to conduct an observation post to help enforce the curfew following the Samara bombing. Coalition forces were attacked by AK-47 fire from the compound directly in front of their position, and one of the rounds struck and killed a Coalition Soldier. Coalition forces searched the compound where the shots came from and found the defendant standing with his hands in the air with an AK-47 and multiple rounds of ammunition lying on the ground. The defendant confessed to Coalition forces that he shot and killed the Soldier, but claimed he thought they were roaming enemy militia.

The trial court found Shafeek Mohammed Zeidan guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to three years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after searching his property where they found a mortar sight, eight 40 mm rounds, three fragmentary grenades, several AK-47 magazines, 900 7.62 mm rounds and an AK-47.

The trial court found Jassim Ahmed Ali guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended the defendant after a Coalition forces informant positively identified him as an arms dealer. Coalition forces searched his home and found 15 AK-47 assault rifles, a Dragunov sniper rifle with scope, a 9 mm pistol, a sub-machine gun, an RPK machine gun, a Turkish Mauser rifle, six bayonets, and several boxes and bags of weapons' replacement parts.

The trial court found Kalid Ahmed Kodair guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after they noticed a personal-security-detail-type suburban in the defendant's yard next to his home. The vehicle was riddled with bullets, and the side of the vehicle appeared to have been hit with an IED. Coalition forces searched the house and found an SKS automatic rifle and Coalition forces tactical bags, including a duffle bag and personal packs. One of the packs had the name of a Coalition forces contractor who was killed by insurgents written inside of it. Coalition forces also found magazines and rifle ammunition. The defendant said the suburban was purchased at a used car dealer to be used to deliver packages.

The trial court found Abd Al Rasool Jassim guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after searching his home where they found two AK-47 rifles, a hand crank that could be used to detonate an IED, an RPG launcher, an RPG round, two armbands with Mehdi Army slogans and pictures of Muqtada Al Sadr.

The trial court found Mohammed Ismael Zeidan guilty of violating Article 27 of the IPC for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after watching him and two others trying to direct traffic around a Coalition forces patrol. The defendant fled to his home when he saw he was being observed. Coalition forces followed and captured him in his home where they found two AK-47s, two 9 mm pistols, a shotgun, six fake identification cards, six loaded AK-47 magazines, three 9 mm magazines, fake license plates and a small pistol.

The trial court found Mohammed Khalaf Schwaysha guilty of violating paragraph 431 of the IPC for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him when he surrendered after a small-arms engagement. The defendant was part of a group that attempted to ambush a Coalition forces patrol, and almost all of the attackers were killed, with no Coalition forces casualties. The defendant was armed during the attack, but claimed he did not attempt or intend to attack Coalition forces. His claim was verified by the fact that his weapon had not been fired. Coalition forces targeted the insurgent group based on muzzle flashes, and although they killed nearly every other attacker, the defendant was not injured. The defendant surrendered without resistance and acknowledged that his weapon was not legally registered.

The trial court found Ali Abd Al Sattar Ahmed guilty of violating Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 3 for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after searching his home where they found 120 mm mortar rounds, a bag of .50 caliber rounds, 140 60 mm mortar rounds, 29 sticks of dynamite, five 120 mm mortar rounds with blasting caps, 11 RPG rounds, a machine gun with two barrels, 1,000 yards of detonation cord, eight blasting caps, 572 rounds of small arms ammunition, 400 rounds of 7.62 ammunition, 60 mm mortar fuses, a mortar sighting device, an AK-47, an RPG launcher, 12 120 mm warheads and 23 60 mm warheads.

The trial court found Mithaq Abd-Al Wahid guilty of violating Article 27 of the IPC for possessing illegal weapons and sentenced him to six months imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after they came across a group of houses and conducted a cordon and search operation. Coalition forces found an SKS rifle, another model rifle hanging on the wall, a machine gun beneath the bed, various types of ammunition and three more rifles. The defendant was not present at the time, but Coalition forces returned Aug. 24, 2005, to the same house and captured him.

Upon conviction, all defendants are turned over to the Iraqi Corrections Service to serve their sentences.

To date, the CCCI has held 1,199 trials of insurgents suspected of anti-Iraqi and anti-Coalition activities threatening the security of Iraq and targeting Multi-National Forces-Iraq. These proceedings have resulted in 1,037 individual convictions with sentences ranging up to death.

And finally from Private Eye magazine on El Beeb:

Number crunching:
200 - Number of staff the BBC is sending to Germany to cover the world cup;
20 - Number of senior BBC executives who also find it necessary to go.

** Nice work if you can get it, and its us licence tax payers that are funding this.

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