Iraq judiciary pushes legal alternatives to detention

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council has directed courts nationwide to reduce the use of detention and imprisonment and to rely on legal alternatives where possible, to ease chronic overcrowding in prisons and detention facilities.

Based on a directive issued by the Public Prosecution Department on December 9, the guidance instructed courts to avoid ordering detention unless the law makes it mandatory, taking into account the circumstances of the offense, the nature of the alleged crime, and the defendant’s personal situation.

The document stressed that courts should confine detention to the minimum period required for investigative purposes. It also called on judges to accelerate the release of defendants on bail whenever the law allows, provided the measure aligns with the charges and guarantees the accused’s appearance before judicial authorities.

In sentencing, the judiciary encouraged judges to impose fines instead of custodial penalties when a clear legal basis exists, describing financial sanctions as a means of achieving deterrence without resorting to deprivation of liberty.

The move comes as Iraq’s prison system continues to face severe strain after decades of conflict and instability. A report by the Iraqi Parliament’s Human Rights Committee estimates that around 70,000 inmates are held in fewer than 30 prisons nationwide and warns that overcrowding has contributed to the spread of disease, drug trafficking, and other abuses inside detention facilities.

Read more: Iraqi prisons overcrowded, plagued by diseases, drugs, and torture, report finds

As part of broader efforts to ease the pressure, Iraq enacted the General Amnesty Law in early 2025. Supporters of the legislation described it as a step toward reducing overcrowding and addressing cases involving detainees they argued were wrongfully imprisoned or held under legally contested charges.