Iraq executes 123 people, says CP

Cairo - The Iraqi Communist Party said yesterday that Iraqi authorities had executed 19 political dissidents and 104 common criminals…

Cairo - The Iraqi Communist Party said yesterday that Iraqi authorities had executed 19 political dissidents and 104 common criminals in a Baghdad prison earlier this month.

The party's human rights centre, based in the Kurdishheld town of Shaqlawa in northern Iraq, said in a statement faxed to Reuters in Cairo that all the executions had taken place on October 12th in Abu Ghraib prison.

Meanwhile, plans for Pope John Paul to visit Iraq, which have attracted widespread criticism, are on hold for the moment, the Vatican's foreign minister said yesterday