A/HRC/38/44/Add.1 death will have their sentences reduced to 15 years in prison if reconciliation is reached with the victims. Some categories of convicted persons, where reconciliation has been reached, may be released immediately, while the sentences of convicted persons where reconciliation has not been reached may be reduced by 30 or 40 per cent (20 per cent for drug-related crimes and sexual abuse). There are also benefits for convicted persons evading arrest and those who have served their sentences but cannot pay their restitution. In the Amnesty Law, it is specified that the Law does not apply to certain categories of crimes, including those relating to national security, the crimes of repeat offenders, some financial crimes, and the rape and torture of children. 64. The Special Rapporteur is concerned at the lack of openness from the Federal Government on judicial proceedings and the use of the death penalty. She was informed that, since 2015, no information has been made public on the number, charges and trials of detainees sentenced to death, remaining on death row or executed. The latest numbers released by the authorities in August 2014 indicated that 1,724 prisoners were on death row (excluding the Kurdistan region). 45 However, this number has likely increased exponentially due to the defeat of ISIL, with large numbers of fighters being captured and undergoing trial. 65. The authorities assured the Special Rapporteur that capital punishment is only imposed after a series of legal checks, including an automatic appeal procedure for all death penalty cases, and that, if any miscarriage of justice is found to have occurred at any stage of the proceedings, the case is automatically re-tried. 66. However, the Special Rapporteur is alarmed by the mass executions reported since 2016 and fears that this has become the modus operandi, in particular, in dealing with ISIL and terrorism cases. Recent examples include 38 men hanged in Nasiriya, southern Iraq, on 14 December, and 42 detainees hanged in the same city on 24 September 2017. All had been convicted on terrorism-related charges. Moreover, on 23 January 2017, 23 convicts were executed for their alleged involvement in the Camp Speicher case. 46 On 21 August 2016, 36 men had reportedly been executed in relation to that case. 67. The Special Rapporteur was also made aware of a large number of allegations regarding violations of fair trial and due process guarantees in death penalty cases. These include, in particular, sentencing based mainly or solely on confessions obtained under torture or duress, 47 lack of judicial investigation into allegations of torture during the investigation phase and swift trials resulting in mass executions. 68. The Special Rapporteur concludes that existing procedural guarantees to ensure fair trials either are not implemented in practice or have proven insufficient to protect against abuses of due process rights, resulting in systematic violations of the right to life. She reiterates her call to the Government to establish an official moratorium on the death penalty. B. Documenting, investigating and preserving evidence of violations48 69. In post-conflict situations, “if formal institutional mechanisms … are not able to deliver results at the scale that cases call for, other forms of intervention can provide recognition to victims and promote social integration”.49 The Special Rapporteur welcomes ongoing efforts to document the range of violations committed during the recent conflict but fears that these are insufficient. The Federal Government to date has not initiated any documentation efforts based on the safe participation of all victims. With the support of international actors and civil society, it should take steps to establish a documentation/truthseeking process to collect testimonies and evidence. This process may or may not include 45 46 47 48 49 Ibid., p. 21. UNAMI/OHCHR, “Human rights in Iraq: January–June 2014”, p. 4. See also CCPR/C/IRQ/CO/5, paras. 27-28. The Government provided additional information (A/HRC/38/44/Add.4, sects. 8, 13-14). A/HRC/36/50, para. 72. 15