Iraq's interim government reinstated the death penalty yesterday for a range of crimes including murder, kidnapping and drug offences, officials said. Capital punishment was suspended after the toppling of Saddam Hussein in April last year. Officials, speaking at a news conference, said the death penalty would go into effect once it had been published in a government gazette. "This has to do with the security situation in Iraq," Minister of State Adnan al-Janabi said, speaking a day after the government announced an amnesty for insurgents who have committed minor crimes.
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