Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s penal code imposes prison sentences on nationals who participate as mercenaries in the war between Russia and Ukraine, the country’s Supreme Judicial Council said on Wednesday.

According to the statement, during a meeting with National Security Adviser Qasim Al-Araji and a committee tasked with countering recruitment, the Council’s head, Judge Faiq Zaidan, reaffirmed that Iraqi law criminalizes joining any foreign armed force without prior government approval.

Earlier this month, a source informed Shafaq News that the Najaf Criminal Court identified a six-member international network accused of recruiting Iraqis to fight for Russia. Two members have been convicted, including one who received a life sentence and a fine of 15 million Iraqi dinars (about $10,500), while the remaining four are still under investigation.

Shafaq News has previously documented cases in which Iraqi families lost contact with relatives who traveled to fight alongside Russian forces in the war against Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022.

Russia’s Ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kutrashev, confirmed to our agency that thousands of Iraqis are prepared to join the Russian army if given the opportunity, rejecting as “highly exaggerated” reports suggesting that hundreds or thousands of foreign fighters are serving alongside Russian forces.

He noted that only a few Iraqis had actually joined the Russian army, citing one individual who met the former military attaché at the Russian Embassy while returning home to settle personal matters before heading back to the front.

Read more: The Desperate and the Damned: Why thousands ofIraqis are fighting in Ukraine