ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi security forces on Tuesday announced the arrest of a murder suspect in Baghdad wanted for cases dating back nearly two decades, who had previously been sentenced in absentia to death by hanging.

Local security authorities supervised by Baghdad’s Rusafa Police Chief Shaalan Ali Saleh “arrested a suspect wanted for murders dating back to 2007/2008” in the Karghouliya area on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, according to a statement by the Rusafa Police.

After receiving intelligence information, a specialized team was formed and dispatched to the suspect’s location, leading to his subsequent arrest.

Upon checking the suspect’s records in the database, it was discovered that arrest warrants had previously been issued against him under Article 406 pertaining to murder cases, in addition to a death sentence issued in absentia.

The suspect is currently in custody, with necessary legal procedures initiated against him, according to the statement.

The statement did not reveal further information regarding the identity of the suspect and the nature of crimes committed.

The early 2000s marked a violent phase in Iraq’s history after the US-led invasion prompted a subsequent power vacuum in the country resulting in a sectarian civil war. Murder cases surged between 2006 and 2008 due to the rise of armed conflict between Shiite and Sunni armed groups.

On Monday, Amnesty International published its 2025 annual report on the use of the death penalty worldwide, with global executions reaching its highest level in over four decades.

According to the report, Iraqi courts issued at least 79 death sentences in 2025, marking a 61 percent decrease from at least 200 recorded the previous year. Amnesty also said Iraq continued to use hanging as a method of execution.

The monitor also listed Iraq among countries where “death sentences were known to have been imposed after proceedings that did not meet international fair trial standards.”