Execution of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein argues with a judge in court, 2004

The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on Saturday 30 December 2006. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him.[1]

The Iraqi government released an official videotape of his execution, showing him being led to the gallows, and ending after his head was in the hangman's noose. International public controversy arose when an "unauthorized" mobile phone recording of the hanging showed him surrounded by a contingent of his countrymen who jeered him in Arabic and praised the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and his subsequent fall through the trap door of the gallows. The atmosphere of the execution drew criticism around the world from nations that oppose as well as support capital punishment. On Sunday 31 December 2006, Saddam Hussein's body was returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja, near Tikrit, and was buried near the graves of other family members.

Prior to execution

Two days prior to the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party web site. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to unite, and not to hate the people of countries that invaded Iraq, like the United States, but instead the decision-makers. He said he was ready to die a martyr and he said that this is his death sentence.[2] In the hours before the execution, Saddam ate his last meal of chicken and rice with a cup of hot water and honey.

Execution

Time and place

Saddam was executed by hanging at approximately 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on 30 December 2006, the day Sunni Iraqis begin celebrating Eid al-Adha.[3][4][5] Reports conflicted as to the exact time of the execution, with some sources reporting the time as 06:00, 06:05, or some, as late as 06:10.[3][5][6]

The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-American military base Camp Justice, located in Kazimain, a north-eastern suburb of Baghdad. Contrary to initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, not at the same time as his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who were executed on 15 January 2007. Barzan was decapitated by the rope due to incorrect calculations of his body weight and length of drop. Saddam's cousin and one of his six co-defendants Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death and was hanged on 25 January 2010.

Proceedings

A senior of Iraqi official who was involved in the events leading to Saddam's death was quoted as saying, "The Americans wanted to delay the execution by 15 days because they weren't keen on having him executed right away. But during the day [before the execution] the prime minister's office provided all the documents they asked for and the Americans changed their minds when they saw the prime minister was very insistent. Then it was just a case of finalizing the details."[7] U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told journalists in Baghdad that after "physical control" of Saddam was given to the Iraqi government, "the multinational force had absolutely no direct involvement with [the execution] whatsoever."[8] There were no U.S. representatives present in the execution chamber.[9][10]

Reports circulated that Saddam's behavior was "submissive" and that he was carrying the Qur'an he had been keeping with him throughout his trial before his execution. Al-Rubaie, who was a witness to Saddam's execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with the invaders."[11] Al-Rubaie reportedly asked Saddam if he had any remorse or fear, to which Saddam replied:

"No, I am a militant and I have no fear for myself. I have spent my life in jihad and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route should not be afraid."[12]

Sami al-Askari, a witness to the execution, said, "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted, 'Allahu Akbar. The Muslim Ummah will be victorious and Palestine is Arab!'"[13] Saddam also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the American invaders.[14] After the rope was secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" as reference to Muqtada al-Sadr; Saddam repeated the name mockingly and rebuked the shouts stating, "Do you consider this bravery?"[12][15][16][17][18] A Shi'a version of an Islamic prayer was recited by some of those present in the room.[19] One observer told Saddam:

"Go to hell!"

Saddam replied,

"The hell that is Iraq?"[20]

Another man asked for quiet, saying,

"Please, stop. The man is facing an execution."

Saddam began to recite the Shahada twice. As he neared the end of his second recitation when he was about to say Muhammad, the trapdoor sprang.[18][21] According to The New York Times, the executioners "cheer their Shi'ite heroes so persistently that one observer [in the execution chambers] makes a remark about how the effort to rein in militias does not seem to be going well."[22] During the drop there was an audible crack indicating that his neck was broken.[23] After Saddam was suspended for a few minutes, the doctor present listened with a stethoscope for a heartbeat. After he detected none, the rope was cut, and the body was placed in a coffin.[24]

Alleged postmortem stabbings

According to Talal Misrab, the head guard at Saddam's tomb, who also helped in the burial, Saddam was stabbed six times after he was executed. The head of Saddam's tribe, Sheikh Hasan al-Neda, denies this claim. Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq's security advisor, stated, "I oversaw the whole process from A-Z and Saddam Hussein's body was not stabbed or mutilated, and he was not humiliated before execution."[25]

Burial

Saddam's body was buried in his birthplace of Al-Awja in Tikrit, Iraq, near family members, including his two sons Uday and Qusay Hussein, on 31 December 2006 at 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT).[26][27][28] His body was transported to Tikrit by a U.S. military helicopter. Saddam was handed over from Iraqi Government possession to Sheikh Ali al-Nida, the late head of the Albu Nasir tribe and governor of Salaheddin, to be buried. He was buried about three kilometers (2 mi) from his two sons in the same cemetery. Saddam Hussein's grave, in a family plot, was dug into the floor of an octagonal, domed building he had built in the 1980s for religious festivals. Saddam's eldest daughter Raghad Hussein, under asylum in Jordan, had asked that "his body be buried in Yemen temporarily until Iraq is liberated and it can be reburied in Iraq", a family spokesperson said by telephone.[29] The family also said his body might be buried in Ramadi, citing safety concerns, though there are no plans to do this.[26] The tomb where he was buried was later destroyed during a shootout between Islamic State (ISIL, ISIS, IS) militants and Iraqi forces. [30]His body was reportedly removed by a Sunni tribal group before the tomb's destruction.[31]

Media coverage

The primary news source for the execution was the state-run Iraqi television news station Al Iraqiya. A scrolling headline read, "Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history." The BBC noted that a doctor, a lawyer, and various officials, were present, and that a video recording of the execution was made.[4] Al Arabiya reported that Saddam's lawyer had confirmed Saddam's death. Al Iraqiya also confirmed his death, whose announcer said, "criminal Saddam was hanged to death ..."[32]

Major news networks carried official video of the moments leading up to Saddam's execution. The Iraqi government also released pictures of Saddam's dead body in a shroud.

Mobile phone video

While officially released footage of the event stopped short of showing the actual execution,[4] an amateur video shot using a camera phone from a staircase leading up to the gallows surfaced, contained low-quality footage of the entire hanging.[21] The amateur footage, unlike the official footage, included sound; witnesses could be heard taunting Saddam at the gallows.[33]

On 3 January 2007, the Iraqi government arrested the guard who they believe made the mobile phone video. However, it was too late to prevent the video from spreading across the internet.[34] Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie later held a press conference and where he announced that three arrests had been made in connection with the investigation into the video recording and leak.[35] A week later, another video surfaced on the Internet, which showed Saddam's body with a large neck wound, creating speculation that the execution had been carried out incorrectly.[36]

Reaction

Legality

Human Rights Watch issued a statement that the "execution follows a flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the rule of law in Iraq."[37] Amnesty International issued a statement that it "opposed the death penalty in all circumstances but it was especially egregious when this ultimate punishment is imposed after an unfair trial."[38] Two days before the execution, the International Federation of Human Rights released a statement calling upon the Head of State to issue a moratorium on the death sentence pronounced against Saddam Hussein by hanging. The organization also said Saddam should be treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions.[39] Juan Cole said that the execution might lead to more sectarian turmoil. "The trial and execution of Saddam were about revenge, not justice. Instead of promoting national reconciliation, this act of revenge helped Saddam portray himself one last time as a symbol of Sunni Arab resistance, and became one more incitement to sectarian warfare", he said.[40]

Lawyers for Saddam called the trial "a flagrant violation of international law" and plan to continue "using all legal paths available locally and internationally until public opinion gets the truth about this political assassination."[41] In a separate statement, Saddam's American defense lawyer called the execution "an unfortunate display of arrogant aggressor's injustice by the United States of America under the leadership of American President George W. Bush. It sets back achievements in international criminal law many decades and sends a clear message to people all over the world that the United States' aggression cannot be stopped by the law. It is truly a sad day for international justice and sad beginning to a new year."[42]

Perception of the Iraq government

Following the leaking of a mobile phone footage of Saddam Hussein's execution, along with the detention on 3 January 2007, of a guard under the Justice Ministry headed by a Sunni Iraqi minister Hashim Abderrahman al-Shibli, suspicions have arisen that the ministry may have intended to inflame sectarian tensions.[43] In an interview with La República on 19 January 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr said that the people who were in the room during execution were "people paid to discredit him" and the purpose of the unofficial video was to "make Muqtadá look like the real enemy of the Sunnis."[44]

United States President George W. Bush mentioned on 4 January 2007 that he wished that the execution "had gone on in a more dignified way."[45] Bush later stated, in a 16 January 2007 interview with U.S. television host Jim Lehrer, that Saddam's execution "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing." Bush said he was "disappointed and felt like they fumbled the—particularly the Saddam Hussein—execution. It reinforced doubts in people's minds that the Maliki government and the unity government of Iraq is a serious government. ... And it sent a mixed signal to the American people and the people around the world."[46]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Saddam buried in village of his birth". Associated Press. 31 December 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2006.
  2. ↑ "Saddam Bids Iraqis Farewell in Letter, Urges Unity". RedBolivia. 28 December 2006.
  3. 1 2 "Saddam Hussein executed, ending era in Iraq". MSNBC. 29 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
  4. 1 2 3 "Saddam Hussein executed in Iraq". BBC News. 29 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
  5. 1 2 "Saddam Body Flown Home". Sky News. 29 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
  6. ↑ "Saddam hanged but no let-up in Iraq violence". Reuters. 31 December 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2007.
  7. ↑ "Iraqi Sunnis vent anger over video of Saddam's fighting". The Daily Star. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
  8. ↑ "U.S. Distances Itself From Saddam Hanging". CBS. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
  9. ↑ "Hussein executed with 'fear in his face'". CNN. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  10. ↑ Raghavan, Sudarsan. "Saddam Hussein is Put to Death". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  11. ↑ "'A Historic Day For Iraq'". Sky News. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
  12. 1 2 Marc Santora (31 December 2006). "On the Gallows, Curses for U.S. and 'Traitors'". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
  13. ↑ "Saddam Hussein dies on the gallows, exiting the Iraqi stage after a long, brutal reign". Associated Press. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  14. ↑ "Witness to Saddam's death". BBC. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  15. ↑ Attempts to anger Saddam moments before his executionAl Jazeera, 1 January 2007.
  16. ↑ Guards taunted Saddam in final secondsThe Independent, 1 January 2007.
  17. ↑ "Witness: Hussein's last words mock Shiite cleric", CNN, 30 December 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  18. 1 2 Carol Lin (30 December 2006). Camera phone in Hussein's execution chamber (Windows Media). CNN. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  19. ↑ Simpson, John (30 December 2006). "Saddam hanging taunts evoke ugly past". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
  20. ↑ Parsons, Claudia (31 December 2006). ""Fallen tyrant" taunted in Saddam video". Reuters. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  21. 1 2 Unidentified videographer (2006). Video (MMS). Anwarweb. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  22. ↑ Tavernise, Sabrina (1 January 2007). "For Sunnis, Dictator's Degrading End Signals Ominous Dawn for the New Iraq". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
  23. ↑ "Saddam Hussein Hanging Video Shows Defiance, Taunts and Glee". National Ledger. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
  24. ↑ "شريط يظهر نطقه للشهادتين ومصوّر الإعدام يروي لحظة النهاية تفاصيل الساعة الأخيرة في حياة الرئيس السابق صدام حسي (Tape shows last details of Saddam's life)" (in Arabic). Al-Arabiya. 31 December 2006.
  25. ↑ Haynes, Deborah (2008-11-01). "Saddam Hussein's body was stabbed in the back, says guard". The Times. Al-Awja, Iraq. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  26. 1 2 "Iraqis gather in Saddam hometown after burial". Reuters. 2006-12-30. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  27. ↑ "Report: Saddam Hussein to be buried with sons". CNN. 2006-12-29. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  28. ↑ "Report: Saddam is buried in home village". BBC. 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
  29. ↑ "Saddam daughter asking body be buried in Yemen". Reuters. 2006-12-29. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  30. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31901568
  31. ↑ http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-saddam-idUSKBN0G61GM20140806
  32. ↑ "Saddam Hussein Executed by Hanging in Iraq". FOX news. 2006-12-29. Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  33. ↑ Bauder, David (2007-01-02). "Saddam Execution Images Shown on TV, Web". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 2006-01-02.
  34. ↑ Abdul-Zahra, Qassim (2007-01-03). "Official Held in Saddam Hanging Video". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  35. ↑ Richard Engel and the Associated Press (2007-01-03). "Arrests made in Saddam video case". NBC News. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  36. ↑ "Body of Saddam in the Morgue - Warning: Graphic Content".
  37. ↑ "Iraq: Saddam Hussein Put to Death". Human Rights Watch. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  38. ↑ "Amnesty International condemns Iraqi Appeal Court verdict against Saddam Hussein and co-accused". Amnesty International. 30 December 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  39. ↑ "Iraq: No to death penalty ratification!", International Federation of Human Rights, 27 December 2006
  40. ↑ Juan Cole, "Saddam: The death of a dictator", Salon (30 December 2006).
  41. ↑ Saddam a martyr - lawyers 30 December 2006
  42. ↑ "Saddam lawyers decry 'political assassination' in statement" 30 December 2006
  43. ↑ CNN (3 January 2007). "More arrests expected from Hussein execution video". Retrieved 3 January 2007.
  44. ↑ "Un esercito segreto contro di noi ma gli sciiti sapranno resistere". La Repubblica. 19 January 2007. Retrieved on 4 November 2009. Translated at "Moqtada's interview at La Repubblica" Helena Cobban
  45. ↑ CBC News (5 January 2007). "Saddam's execution could have been more 'dignified': Bush". Retrieved 6 January 2007.
  46. ↑ PBS (16 January 2007). "President Bush Defends Decision to Send Additional Troops to Iraq". Retrieved 17 January 2007.
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