In this August 1, 2003 file photo shows US Captain David L. Phillips, of the 94th Engineer Combat Battalion, taking pictures during a media tour of the renovated cells at Abu Ghraib prison, 15 kilometeres west of Baghdad.

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court has sentenced two Saudis to death by hanging after finding them guilty on terrorism charges, with three others likely to share the same fate, according to a report in a local publication on Tuesday.

However, Hamed Ahmed, the Saudi lawyer who represented the two men in Iraq has claimed the verdict was politically motivated. He said his clients, Batal Al-Harbi and Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani, were the victims of the country’s political turbulence.

Ahmed further claimed that there was little evidence to prove they committed crimes that would justify the death penalty.

He said he would appeal the decision and file a motion with the Iraqi Supreme Court. A decision on the appeal was likely to be made next year, he said.

Al-Harbi was sentenced to death on Oct. 26 for having joined an armed group and attempting to launch a suicide attack. He was one of 25 people arrested in 2011 and accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda.

Ahmad said three other Saudis, currently facing trial in a court next to Baghdad International Airport, are also likely to be sentenced to death.

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