Iraqi court: Life sentence in Russia–Ukraine recruitment case
Shafaq News – Najaf
The Najaf Criminal Court on Monday sentenced a man to life in prison for human trafficking, after finding him guilty of recruiting Iraqis to fight alongside Russian forces in the war in Ukraine.
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement, “The convict, along with other defendants, formed groups and sent them to fight in foreign countries in exchange for financial sums.” The court issued the ruling under Article 6, paragraphs 3 and 7, of Iraq’s Human Trafficking Law No. 28 of 2012.
A judicial source told Shafaq News last Thursday that the Najaf Court handed down a life sentence to a man who organized “international networks” by recruiting Iraqis to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Iraq’s parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee confirmed the presence of Iraqis fighting with the Russian army in Ukraine, three years after the war began on February 24, 2022, and said it was moving to investigate the issue.
The case surfaced amid media reports suggesting that thousands of Iraqis have joined Russian ranks since the war broke out. Shafaq News recently reported that more than 5,000 young Iraqis had been recruited to fight in Russia and Ukraine since 2022. Many of those who joined were Iraqis who first traveled to Moscow for tourism or used Russia as a transit point to Europe.
Under Russian law, any foreign resident in the country who speaks Russian may sign an official contract with the Russian military for a monthly salary ranging between $2,500 and $3,000.
