Iraqi official calls for death penalty for 39 terrorism suspects

He did not say when the men were arrested, but described them as operatives of the Islamic State of Iraq, an Al Qaeda wing, who were based in Iraq’s Sunni-dominated western Anbar province.

“Today, we will send those criminals and the investigation results to the courts that will sentence them to death,’’ Bolani, a Shi’ite Muslim, told reporters. “Our demand is not to delay the carrying out of the executions against these criminals so that to deter terrorist and criminal elements.’’

The prisoners, who were wearing orange jumpsuits, were silent throughout the news conference.

Bolani, who is lobbying to keep his job as Iraq’s leaders vie for top ministry posts in the new government, said sentencing the men to death quickly would ensure that they are not released by security forces.

He said swift execution, as many Iraqis demand for terrorists, would also serve as a deterrent to insurgents. Bolani wore a black-and-white tribal headdress at the announcement — a nod to several Anbar sheiks who were in the audience.

His comments appear to fly in the face of the millions of dollars the United States has spent trying to implore the rule of law on Iraq, in part by making sure that detainees get a fair trial.

Abdul-Rahman Najim al-Mashhadani, head of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization that has been helping reform Iraq’s judicial system, scoffed at Bolani’s comments and predicted that at least some of the suspects would be found not guilty.

“Verdicts should be issued by courts, not by ministers who should be confined to the powers given to them only, especially if they are in the outgoing government,’’ Mashhadani said.

Authorities said one of the suspects was tasked with recruiting foreign fighters to launch attacks in Iraq, such as the Oct. 31 siege on a Catholic church in Baghdad that left 68 dead and is believed to have been carried out by men with North African accents.