Baghdad Court Sentences Man to Death for Kidnapping and Killing Jeweler

Baghdad’s Rusafa Criminal Court has sentenced a defendant to death for kidnapping and killing a jeweler in the New Baghdad district, in a case that has remained open as authorities continue searching for a third suspect. The victim was abducted in May 2018, and the killing underscored the severity of organized crime targeting businesses in the capital. According to the family, the defendant was the second member of a three-person gang to be identified in the case. The first suspect, who was arrested months after the crime, had also been handed a death sentence. The attack began with the kidnapping of the jeweler from his shop in New Baghdad in May 2018. All items in the store were stolen before he was killed and his body was dumped by the roadside. The jeweler’s body was found days after the abduction. The file remains open while investigators await the arrest of the third suspect.