Another Milestone in Iraq, Saddam to be Executed!

I wonder what the effect on Iraq will be?

For that matter, I wonder how his execution will affect the entire Middle East?

Saddam execution 'within month'
Saddam Hussein in court. File photo
Saddam Hussein will be hanged despite a second trial taking place
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could be hanged on any of the next 30 days following the rejection of an appeal against his death sentence.

Saddam Hussein had appealed against the sentence imposed on 5 November over the killing of 148 Shias in the town of Dujail in 1982.

He is also facing trial in a second case but under Iraqi law the execution must go ahead despite that.

The US called the appeal court decision a milestone in replacing "a tyrant".

No further appeal

The BBC's Peter Greste in Baghdad says the authorities are keeping the time and place of the execution a closely guarded secret.

He says we might only know if Saddam Hussein is finally dead after the sentence has been carried out.


THE VERDICTS
Saddam Hussein, former Iraqi president: found guilty and sentenced to death
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam Hussein's half-brother: found guilty and sentenced to death
Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Chief Judge of Revolutionary Court: found guilty and sentenced to death
Taha Yasin Ramadan, former Iraqi vice-president: found guilty and sentenced to life in jail
Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid Senior Baath official: found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail
Abdullah Rawed Mizher, Senior Baath official: found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail
Ali Daeem Ali, Senior Baath official: found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail
Mohammed Azawi Ali, Baath official: acquitted

Appeals Court judge Arif Shaheen told a news conference in Baghdad the execution date could not "exceed 30 days".

"As from [Wednesday] the sentence could be carried out at any time," he said, adding that there could be no further appeal and the sentence could not be commuted.

The White House called the ruling a landmark in Iraq's efforts "to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law".

But former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark was ejected from the courtroom before sentencing after handing the judge a note in which he called the trial a "travesty".

Saddam Hussein's defence team has also accused the Iraqi government of interfering in the proceedings - a complaint backed by US group Human Rights Watch.

India urged clemency - expressing concern over any delay to the restoration of peace in Iraq. The EU has also called on Iraq not to carry out the death sentence.

'Too lenient'

Saddam Hussein's defence lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said the court's verdict "was expected".

Former Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan
The appeals court said Ramadan should also face execution

"We were not at all surprised, as we are convinced that this has been - 100% - a political trial," he said.

The Dujail case relates to killings that followed a failed assassination attempt against the then Iraqi leader in 1982.

Saddam Hussein's half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and Iraq's former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bandar were also sentenced to death.

Former Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan was sentenced to life imprisonment and three others received 15-year prison terms.

The appeals court said Ramadan's sentence was too lenient and returned it to the High Tribunal for consideration of the death penalty.

Another co-defendant, Baath party official Mohammed Azawi Ali, was acquitted.

Saddam Hussein is facing a separate trial in connection with a military campaign against Kurdish communities in the 1980s.

You would support acquitting Saddam and restoring him to power then?

I don't have a problem with the trial of Saddam Hussein, nor his having been found guilty. After all he did murder and torture his own people and they have the right to demand justice for it. But a hanging just seems so barbaric. I can't imagine how it will play out on TV. Do you think they will actually televise it?

revel wrote:

I don't have a problem with the trial of Saddam Hussein, nor his having been found guilty. After all he did murder and torture his own people and they have the right to demand justice for it. But a hanging just seems so barbaric. I can't imagine how it will play out on TV. Do you think they will actually televise it?

It would be interesting to watch thats for sure. When it comes to the way in which they kill him, I think he is lucky that they aren't going to draw and quarter him. I think the more painful the death the better for people like him.