Iraq executes killer of Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq has carried out the death sentence against Saadoun Sabri Al-Qaisi, convicted of "crimes against humanity," including the killing of prominent Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr, the National Security Service announced on Monday.

In a statement, the agency said the execution followed the completion of all judicial procedures, investigations, and intelligence follow-up. It added that Al-Qaisi was also responsible for the killing of members from the Al-Hakim family —widely regarded as a leading religious authority in Najaf— as well as other civilians.

Al-Sadr ranks among the most influential Shiite religious, intellectual, and political figures in modern history. He founded the Islamic Dawa Party and emerged as a leading opponent of the regime of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

In January 2025, a security source revealed to Shafaq News that Al-Qaisi, born in 1947 and a senior official under the former Baathist regime, personally transported Al-Sadr and his sister, Bint al-Huda, to an area now known as Bismayah, south of Baghdad, where he executed them in 1980 with the assistance of Adel Ibrahim Al-Athami. Al-Qaisi fled to Syria after the regime’s collapse in 2003, adopted the alias “Hajj Saleh,” and later returned to Iraq, settling in Erbil on February 26, 2023.