[JURIST] The body of missing Tikrit judge Turky al-Dulaimi has been found by Iraqi police near Baghdad, according to a police source speaking on the condition of anonymity Thursday. Dulaimi disappeared four days ago after being transferred from a court in Tikrit to one in Abu Ghraib. The source said Dulaimi was found on a street north of Baghdad near Samarra and had been shot several times in the head and chest.

Abductions and killings of political and judicial figures have continued to occur in Iraq [JURIST news archive] with kidnappers demanding large ransom sums or other requests in exchange for released victims. Earlier this week, Sunni Iraqi legislator Tayseer al-Mashhadani was released [JURIST report] after her captors had previously demanded the freedom of all Shiite prisoners [JURIST report], an end to airstrikes against Iraqi mosques, and a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops. Xinhua has more.