Swedes Face Death Sentences in Iraq: A Diplomatic Crisis Unfolds

Three Swedish citizens have been sentenced to death in Iraq for their involvement in a shooting, with a fourth potentially facing the same punishment for a separate crime. Sweden, which opposes the death penalty, is working diplomatically to prevent these sentences from being carried out.

Three Swedish citizens have been sentenced to death in Iraq over their involvement in a shooting and a fourth may also face the same punishment over a separate crime, the Swedish foreign ministry said on Thursday. The government summoned Iraq's charge d'affaires last month to protest the death sentence against one of the three involved in the shooting.

Sweden does not have the death penalty and opposes its use in all circumstances. The foreign ministry said it had now received confirmation that two more Swedes have been convicted in relation to the same crime, and received the death penalty.

"The information we have received on the death penalties is extremely serious and we are working to ensure the sentences will not be carried out," the foreign ministry said in an emailed statement. In June, the Daily Aftonbladet reported that the men had been involved in the shooting of another Swedish citizen in Iraq in January.

The ministry said it had received a report that a fourth Swede was given a death sentence for a different, drug-related crime, but that it could not confirm the information.

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