Shafaq News - Najaf

The founder of the group known as “Jaysh al-Haq” (Army of Righteousness) was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison for establishing an illegal armed organization in Najaf, southern Iraq, a judicial source told Shafaq News.

The Najaf Criminal Court issued the ruling under Article 210 of Iraq’s Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, which penalizes acts that incite or organize armed movements against the state.

The defendant had appeared in a video circulated on social media earlier this year, announcing the formation of “Jaysh al-Haq” and calling for attacks on government employees and institutions.

Iraqi security forces arrested the group’s spokesman in July after the faction, which claimed to have more than 1,000 members, vowed to “support the oppressed” in Najaf against the government and political parties.