ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 2,500 prisoners have been released across the country under the general amnesty law, Iraq’s justice ministry said on Thursday.
“The general amnesty process continues and as of today more than 2,500 prisoners have been released within the framework of the law,” Ahmed Laibi, spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, told Rudaw.
“According to our capacity, we are making every effort to release all those covered by the law within a specified period,” he added.
In early April, Iraq announced that 1,000 prisoners had been released.
The general amnesty law, passed in January, was submitted by Sunni lawmakers and includes amending the definition of affiliation with terrorist organizations. This change was a key prerequisite for Sunni blocs to agree to join the ruling State Administration Coalition. Sunnis argue that thousands from their community have been unjustly imprisoned in Shiite-dominated Iraq since 2003 over alleged terrorism links, including ties to the Islamic State (ISIS).
The law went into effect in mid-February after it was published in the Official Gazette of Iraq. It was one of three controversial laws passed together. The other two were changes to the personal status law backed by Shiites and a land restitution law backed by Kurds.
According to justice ministry statistics, there are 30 prisons in Iraq with some 67,000 inmates, 1,600 of whom are foreigners. This number excludes the Kurdistan Region’s prisons and those held by security forces and different armed groups across the country.
Malik Mohammed contributed to this report.
