Margaret Hassan Killer Sentenced to Life

(Baghdad) In late 2004, UK/Iraqi citizen and CARE International employee Margaret Hassan was kidnapped and murdered and her body has yet to be found. Hassan's death was known only because Al-Jazeera received a videotape of her execution.

Last May, five people were captured by U.S. Forces and admitted complicity in her killing. The trial of three of the suspected killers has concluded.

From Times Online:

The family of the British aid worker Margaret Hassan today said that a court's decision to acquit two of three Iraqis charged with her murder was a "green light" to kidnappers.

Mrs Hassan's relatives also criticised the British Government's "inept" handling of her abduction and chastised detectives for their "incompetent" investigation which led to today's acquittals.

One of the three accused, Mustafa Salman al-Jabouri, was jailed for life after a hearing lasting only two hours before a panel of judges in Baghdad. He was found guilty of aiding and abetting the kidnappers who snatched Mrs Hassan, 59, as she drove to work in October 2004.

Mrs Hassan's family believe that police failed to gather evidence which would have led to al-Jabouri's conviction for murder, for which there is a mandatory death sentence.

Consequently, three people who were directly complicit with the execution-style murder of an innocent civilian will not be required to pay the ultimate penalty. Personally, I believe the justice and law enforcement systems in Iraq have not developed sufficiently to properly investigate and adjudicate criminals.