On a busy day, Judge Ahmed might send several men to their deaths before lunchtime.

At the Baghdad court where he works, he has presided over more than a thousand trials of suspected Isis members.

Prisoners accused of belonging to one of the world’s most brutal terror organizations shuffle through the hallways wearing bright orange jumpsuits. They wait silently outside his courtroom and listen to those who go before them.

The judge, who declined to give his name for security reasons, has seen before him unrepentant radicals and hardened killers, liars and psychopaths. He has also heard from defendants who say they joined the group just to survive.

Read more: The Independent