The Najaf Criminal Court has sentenced an Iraqi man to life in prison for trafficking people to Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine.

“The convicted, along with other defendants, formed groups and sent them to fight in foreign countries in exchange for financial sums,” the court said in a short statement on Monday, adding that the life sentence was issued based on a 2012 law that criminalises recruiting or transporting people for exploitation.

An Iraqi judicial official and a senior security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment were quoted by The Associated Press news agency as identifying the man as Risan Falah Kamel.

No additional names have been announced so far, and the official text of the indictment has not been released.

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