Shafaq News – Babil

On Monday, an Iraqi court sentenced a man to two years of rigorous imprisonment for insulting Imam Hussein, a central figure in Shia Islam, during a Facebook livestream.

A judicial source told Shafaq News that the Babil Court of Appeal issued the ruling under Article 372/5 of Iraq’s Penal Code, which criminalizes insults to religion and punishes acts that target religious beliefs or rituals.

Iraq, a multi-ethnic country of more than 45 million people, has a Shiite majority. Karbala, in central Iraq, is home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year for Arbaeen, the 40-day mourning period that follows his martyrdom.

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