Saddam Hussein Executed In Iraq
Posted December 29, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After many months of trials and tribulation, the saga that was the post-rule life of Saddam Hussein has finally come to an end.
The former Iraqi dictator lost his final appeal earlier in the week, and with no further legal action possible, he served his death penalty and was executed just before sunrise Saturday morning in Iraq, according to state-run Iraqiya television.
“Criminal Saddam was hanged to death,” Iraqiya said in an announcement.
The station played patriotic music and showed images of national monuments and other landmarks.
Reports suggest the execution was witnessed by a doctor, lawyer, state officials and was also filmed. Witnesses say people danced around the body.
Mariam al-Rayes, a legal expert and former member of parliament, told Iraqiya that the execution “was filmed and God willing it will be shown.”
The 69-year-old was sentenced to hang on November 15 th and was turned over to his new captors by American officials in the afternoon.
Hussein was head strong and dictatorial to the end, fighting with those sitting in judgment on him and declaring himself the rightful ruler of the country – even as he sat in chains.
And it was clear those involved with the case were taking their lives in their hands. Many judges, lawyers and their relatives were killed as the lengthy trial went on.
Hussein’s trial, like his rule, was the source of many casualties.
His death penalty came for the killing of 148 people detained after an attempt on his life in the Iraqi city of Dujail in 1982.
Many Iraqis feel justice is finally done, even as troops in the country remain on high alert fearing retaliation from the former dictator’s supporters.
“The reality is that this is an extremely important moment for the future of Iraq,” comments one Baghdad resident. “They want to do it well and right and truly in the way that does promote healing.”
“Today a dark page of dictatorship has been turned over,” another comments. “Just like when the Europeans turned the page of Nazism and Hitler and sent its men to history’s garbage dump.”
But the hangman’s noose will cheat others from getting their chance at justice. Saddam will not live to see the outcome of the second trial on genocide charges related to the bombing of Iraqi Kurds.
Still, not everyone’s happy that the last chapter of Saddam Hussein’s life is ending with a concluding sentence.
Protests erupted in India and Pakistan on Friday, but with Iraq descending into what appears to be civil war, one thing is clear.
“Iraqis today look for strong government, a strong man to restore some order in the streets,” former Iraqi government spokesman Laith Kaaba observes.
But for his countrymen, who suffered or lost loved ones to the brutal regime, it’s enough that one strongman has forever been weakened.
Key dates in the life of Saddam Hussein:
April 28, 1937 – Born in al-Awja village outside Tikrit, 150 km (90 miles) north of Baghdad.
October 1956 – Joins uprising against pro-British royalist rulers and then becomes a militant in the pan-Arab, secular Baath Party.
October 1959 – A year after overthrow of monarchy, takes part in attempt to kill Prime Minister Abdel-Karim Kassem. Flees abroad.
February 1963 – Returns to Baghdad when the Baath Party seizes power in a military coup but nine months later Baathists are toppled. Caught and jailed. Elected deputy secretary-general of the party while in prison.
July 1968 – Saddam helps plot the coup that puts the Baath Party back in power, deposing President Abdul-Rahman Aref.
March 1975 – As vice-president of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), signs border agreement with the Shah of Iran, who ends support for an Iraqi Kurdish revolt, causing its collapse.
July 16, 1979 – Takes power after President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr steps aside as chairman of the RCC.
Sept 22, 1980 – Following border skirmishes, Saddam launches war on Iran that lasts eight years.
March 16, 1988 – Iraqi forces launch chemical attack on Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja, killing about 5,000 people.
August 20, 1988 – A cease-fire is officially implemented in the Iran-Iraq war. The campaign against Kurds continues.
August 2, 1990 – Launches invasion of Kuwait, prompting U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Iraq.
January 17, 1991 – U.S.-led forces start Gulf War with air attacks on Iraq and occupied Kuwait. Hostilities end on Feb 28 with eviction of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
October 15, 1995 – Saddam wins a presidential referendum and is elected unopposed with more than 99 percent of the vote.
October 15, 2002 – Official results show Saddam wins 100 percent of votes in a referendum for a new term in office.
December 7, 2002 – Saddam apologizes for invasion of Kuwait but blames the emirate’s leadership. Kuwait rejects the apology.
February 2003 – In first interview in more than a decade, Saddam denies Baghdad has any banned weapons or links to al Qaeda.
March 20, 2003 – U.S. launches war against Iraq.
April 9, 2003 – U.S. forces sweep into the heart of Baghdad as Saddam Hussein’s 24-year rule crumbles.
July 22, 2003 – U.S. military confirms Saddam’s two sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in gun battle in Mosul.
December 14, 2003 – U.S. officials announce capture of Saddam.
October 19, 2005 – Trial opens with Saddam charged with crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shi’ite men in Dujail after a 1982 assassination attempt. He pleads not guilty.
August 21, 2006 – Saddam refuses to enter a plea as the trial starts on charges of war crimes in the “Anfal” campaign that killed tens of thousands of Kurdish villagers in 1988.
November 5, 2006 – A court in Baghdad finds Saddam guilty of crimes against humanity and sentences him to hang for the deaths of 148 Shi’ite men in Dujail.
December 26, 2006 – An Iraqi appeals court confirms the guilty verdict and death sentence against Saddam in the Dujail case.
December 30, 2006 – A U.S. judge refuses to stop Saddam’s execution, rejecting a last-minute court challenge, and he is hanged.
Comments made by Saddam Hussein during his two trials:
“I realize there is pressure on you and I regret that I have to confront one of my sons. But I’m not doing it for myself. I’m doing it for Iraq. I’m not defending myself. But I am defending you.” — Dec. 5, 2005, speaking to judge at his first trial, for killings of 148 Iraqi Shiite Muslims from Dujail.
“I am not afraid of execution.” — Dec. 5, 2005, nearly a year before he was sentenced to death.
“I’m not complaining about the Americans, because I can poke their eyes with my own hands.” — Dec. 21, 2005, after accusing American guards of beating him.
“For 35 years I led you, and you say, ‘Eject him?’ … For 35 years, I administered your rights.” — Jan. 29, 2006, to chief judge who ordered Saddam be removed from the courtroom.
“Where is the crime? Where is the crime?” — March 1, after declaring he ordered trial of 148 Shiites who were eventually executed, because he suspected them of involvement in assassination attempt.
“I sentence an underage Iraqi to death? I wouldn’t do it even if you were to carve my eyes out.” — April 5, in response to accusations some of the Shiites killed were children.
“If you are scared of the interior minister, he doesn’t scare my dog.” — April 5, to the chief judge, who asked Saddam not to make political statements about new Iraqi administration.
“I’m Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq. I am above all.” — May 22.
“I ask you being an Iraqi person that if you reach a verdict of death, execution, remember that I am a military man and should be killed by firing squad.” — July 26.
“I am in prison but the knights outside will liberate the country.” — July 26, while arguing with chief judge.
“Not even 1,000 people like you can terrify me.” — July 26, to chief judge.
“Long live the people and death to their enemies!” — Nov. 5, after being sentenced to death.
“I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands.” — Nov. 7, at his second trial, where was charged with genocide for military crackdown on Iraqi Kurds.
Saddam’s Hanging – What Happens Next?
According to a penal code dating from Saddam’s time in power, a condemned man should be allowed a visit by his family the day before he is hanged, as well as a visit from a cleric. Two of Saddam’s half-brothers met him on Thursday.
The execution should be witnessed by a judge, a prosecutor, an Interior Ministry representative, the prison director and a doctor. Saddam’s lawyer may also attend if he wants. If he wishes to make a final statement, the judge notes his last words which will be endorsed by the other witnesses.
Although officially held by the Iraqi court, Saddam has been in U.S. custody at Camp Cropper at what was once Baghdad’s Saddam International Airport. U.S. generals have headquarters nearby in Saddam’s former palaces. He will be hanged by Iraqis and has now been turned over to them by American officials.
Saddam could be hanged at Camp Cropper, if authorities want to avoid moving him. However, recent executions have taken place at a “death row” known as the Maximum Security Office in the northern Baghdad suburb of Kadhimiya. Known by U.S. forces as “Camp Justice”, the prison is on the site of a once dreaded base for Saddam’s own military intelligence agents.
In court, Saddam has appeared wearing a white shirt and dark suit, his hair neatly trimmed and dyed black, a far cry from his dishevelled appearance when he was captured by U.S. troops in December 2003, hiding in a hole near Tikrit. If he is treated like other convicts, he could be hooded and dressed in green overalls with his hands bound behind his back.
A public execution is unlikely, with the government keen to avoid causing political tension. However, many will expect at least visual proof of their former leader’s demise, as when U.S. forces published graphic images of his dead sons and showed the bodies to journalists after they were killed in July 2003.
If they wish, the family of the executed man may retrieve the body for burial. Saddam’s sons were buried in his home village of Awja, near Tikrit. If they do not, the government will pay for the burial and there will be no funeral.
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