Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan on Tuesday warned that attacks on diplomatic missions pose a serious threat to the country’s external security and may carry the death penalty under Iraqi law.

In an article titled “The Crime of Attacking Diplomatic Missions,” Zaidan said diplomatic missions represent their countries abroad and include embassies, consulates, ambassadors’ residences, and official mission property, describing these institutions as “among the most important pillars of international relations” that enable political, economic, and cultural cooperation between states.

“These missions enjoy special protection under international law, most notably the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” Zaidan noted. “Therefore, any attack on these missions constitutes a serious crime that affects the entire international order.”

Zaidan identified several forms of violations, including sabotage, threats, physical assaults, blockades, and attempts to obstruct diplomatic work. Such acts, he explained, extend beyond physical damage or casualties and may trigger diplomatic crises or even lead to the severing of relations between states. “International law recognizes the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic missions, obligating the receiving state to take all necessary measures to protect these missions from any attack, intrusion, or damage.”

Failure to meet these obligations could expose a state to international accountability, including political or economic sanctions or diplomatic isolation, he cautioned, pointing out that Iraq’s Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 classifies attacks on diplomatic missions as crimes affecting the country’s external security and international relations, while the Counter-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005, specifically Article 2 (Paragraph 6), treats assaults on embassies and diplomatic facilities as terrorist acts “punishable by death.”

According to Zaidan, these provisions reflect Iraq’s commitment to safeguarding national security, upholding international standards, and deterring attacks on diplomatic missions due to their serious consequences for the state and the international community.

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