In Iraq, the Iraqi government rejected U.N. protest Thursday and announced plans to proceed with the execution of two of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants. Hussein’s half-brother — former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim — and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were sentenced along with Saddam Hussein for their roles in the killing of more than 100 Iraqi Shia in the town of Dujail in 1982. Their executions have been postponed until after the Eid holiday, which ends in Iraq on Saturday. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has called on Iraq to spare the defendants’ lives. On Thursday, Arbour made a broader appeal to address prison conditions in Iraq.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour: “I’m calling for an international inquiry into the conditions of detentions in Iraq, in large part because of the recent very troubling allegation of widespread use of torture, but also for many other reasons, including the number of detainees, which seem to be considerable by any standards, and indications that some people remain in detention, even though there’s been an order for their release. I think there’s very systemic widespread and very serious concern regarding detention conditions in Iraq.”