Shafaq News- Najaf
A Najaf criminal court sentenced two leaders of Al-Qurbangroup to six years in prison for forcing members to commit suicide through aritual known as the candle draw, a security source told Shafaq News on Monday.
The two were convicted of “coercing individualsto offer themselves as sacrifices to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib by committingsuicide through strangulation.” According to the source, the ruling was issuedunder Article 408 of Iraq’s amended Penal Code No. 111 of 1969.
The candle draw ritual involves each participant lighting a candle duringgroup gatherings, with the person whose candle goes out first allegedly beingchosen to commit suicide.
Also known as “Ali-Allahiya,” Al-Qurban is a banned sectthat promotes the deification of the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib andencourages self-sacrifice as an act of devotion. Iraqi authorities havearrested dozens of its followers in Wasit, Basra, Al-Muthanna, Dhi Qar, andAl-Diwaniyah.