Iraq has executed 17 convicted criminals in one day, the justice ministry said on Wednesday, bringing to 51 the number of people executed so far this year.

“The justice ministry carried out (death) sentences against 17 people condemned for terrorist and criminal crimes... on Tuesday,” it said in a statement.

“The ministry is continuing to carry out punishments against criminals according to the law and the constitution,” Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari was quoted as saying.

Last month, justice ministry spokesman Haidar al-Saadi said that Iraq had executed 34 people in 2012, including two women and a Syrian, compared to a total of 68 last year.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay last week expressed shock at the number of executions, criticising the lack of transparency in court proceedings and calling for an immediate suspension of the death penalty.

“I call on the government of Iraq to implement an immediate moratorium on the institution of the death penalty,” Pillay said in a statement.

“Even if the most scrupulous fair trial standards were observed, this would be a terrifying number of executions to take place in a single day,” said Pillay, a South African high court judge.

“Given the lack of transparency in court proceedings, major concerns about due process and fairness of trials, and the very wide range of offences for which the death penalty can be imposed in Iraq, it is a truly shocking figure,” she said.

The United Nations estimates that more than 1 200 people have been sentenced to death in Iraq since 2004, but it does not have comprehensive statistics on executions. - AFP