An Iraqi lawyer, Samira Saleh al-Naimi, has been publicly executed in the northern city of Mosul by forces of the Islamic State (ISIS), a Middle East human rights group reported today.

The Gulf Center for Human Rights said that al-Naimi had been taken from her home last week after describing as ‘barbaric’ the destruction of historic sites in Mosul and was shot by masked men in a public square on Monday. 

An Associated Press report quotes the United Nations as saying she had been ‘found guilty of apostasy in a self-styled Islamic court’.

The Gulf centre described al-Naimi as ‘a prominent lawyer and human rights defender and famous for her activities that include defending detainees and supporting the disadvantaged families in the city’. 

It called for the UN to carry out ‘an immediate, impartial and thorough investigation into the execution of Samira Saleh Al-Naimi and other crimes committed by ISIS with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in line with local laws and international standards’.