IRAQ. MAN EXECUTED FOR ROLE IN 2003 IMAM ALI BLAST

July 3, 2007: Iraqi Justice Ministry spokesman Busho Ibrahim said Oras Muhammad Abdul-Aziz was executed by hanging. In 2006, Iraq's Central Criminal Court sentenced Abdul-Aziz to death for his role in the bombing of the Imam Ali shrine in Al-Najaf. The blast killed at least 85 people, including the then head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Iraq is now the world's fourth highest user of the death penalty, Amnesty International reported. Only China, Iran and Pakistan used the death penalty more frequently. (Sources: Radio Free Europe, 06/07/2007)