Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Iraqi Central Criminal Court sentenced a convict to three years in prison for promoting the ideology of the banned Baath Party.

According to a statement from the Supreme Judicial Council's media center, the convict was arrested in southern Baghdad. “Authorities discovered weapons, documents, mobile phones, a computer, and Baath Party-related publications in his home,” it added.

The sentence was issued under Article 8/First of Law No. 32 of 2016 on Banning the Baath Party, Entities, Parties, and Racist, Terrorist, and Takfiri Activities, and by reference to Article 132/3 of the Penal Code.

Notably, the Baath Party ruled for nearly four decades in Iraq, mostly under the leadership of former President Saddam Hussein, before the United States and its allies overthrew him in the Third Gulf War in 2003.