New Delhi, May 5 -- An Iraqi court on Monday sentenced four people to six years in prison on charges of promoting the ideas of the banned Baath Party led by former leader Saddam Hussein.

The Karkh Criminal Court said in a statement that those convicted were found in possession of the banned materials on their cellphones in Kirkuk province during 2025 and 2026.

After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam's autocratic rule, the country implemented a broad de-Baathification policy aimed at removing the influence of the Baath Party from state institutions.

The policy targeted former party members, particularly those in senior positions under the previous government, and led to large-scale dismissals across the public sector, in...