Finland charges two Iraqi men with war crimes

Published March 8th, 2016 - 05:05 GMT
Displaced Iraqi families gather as they flee a military operation by Iraqi security personnel aimed at retaking areas from Daesh, in the desert west of the city of Samarra on March 3, 2016. (AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)
Displaced Iraqi families gather as they flee a military operation by Iraqi security personnel aimed at retaking areas from Daesh, in the desert west of the city of Samarra on March 3, 2016. (AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

A prosecutor in Finland has brought charges against two Iraqis on suspected war crimes in their home country in 2014 and 2015, the Associated Press reported.

Juha-Mikko Hamalainen, the Helsinki District Court prosecutor, said on Tuesday that the two unrelated cases involve two men under the age of 30 who came to Finland last fall.

Hamalainen said in both cases the men are accused of defiling the bodies of enemy soldiers, declining to give further details before the court cases begin later this month.

Both Iraqi men have denied the charges, but if found guilty, they could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. However, Hamalainen said any sentence would likely be at the "lower end of the scale," likely a sentence of a few years.

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