Two Al-Qurban members jailed in Iraq suicide case

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court handed six-year and one-year prison terms to two members of the banned Al-Qurban group, the Supreme Judicial Council announced on Sunday.

The first defendant, whom the council described as holding “deviant religious beliefs,” was convicted of inciting the second to take his own life. The rulings were issued under Article 9 of Law No. 32 of 2016 Prohibiting the Baath Party, Racist, Terrorist, and Takfiri Entities, Parties, and Activities, alongside provisions of the Iraqi Penal Code.

Also known as Ali-Allahiya, Al-Qurban espouses beliefs including the deification of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammed, and promotes ritual self-sacrifice through practices such as drawing lots to select individuals for an “offering.” Iraqi authorities have designated the movement an outlawed organization.

Authorities have pursued several cases involving the group earlier this year, including the arrest of a senior figure accused of overseeing the suicides of several minors in southern Iraq. A Dhi Qar criminal court later convicted another member of inciting children to take their own lives, while a Najaf court sentenced two group leaders to six years in prison for forcing members to commit suicide through a ritual known as the “candle draw.”