Iraqi man convicted for trafficking people to fight for Russia in Ukraine

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.

Thousands of foreign fighters have fought for both Russia and Ukraine during the war, now in its fourth year.

In early September, the Iraqi Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee acknowledged the presence of Iraqi nationals fighting alongside the Russian army.

It also said parliament would take action to further investigate the details and try to stop the phenomenon.

Some local Iraqi media have reported that several thousand Iraqi nationals are believed to be fighting on the Russian side, lured by either money or the potential to use Russia as a gateway to moving to a European country.

North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers and a considerable volume of ammunition to help Russia on the battlefield, particularly when it was fending off Ukraine’s ground assault in Russia’s border region of Kursk, according to American and South Korean officials.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held talks in Beijing early this month, and both leaders praised the deepening military partnership between their countries.

Putin praised the bravery and heroism of North Korean soldiers who he said fought alongside Russian forces in repelling the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk. Kim, in turn, said cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang had “significantly strengthened” since the two countries signed a strategic partnership in June 2024.

“If there’s anything I can do for you and the people of Russia, if there is more that needs to be done, I will consider it as a fraternal duty, an obligation that we surely need to bear, and will be prepared to do everything possible to help,” Kim said.

Last year, the Russian military captured a British national fighting with Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk.

This year, Ukraine said some Chinese nationals were detected and even arrested while fighting for the Russian army.

China, which has been assisting the Russian economy during the war, has refrained from sending weapons and military equipment and has long insisted it remains neutral and backs diplomacy.