Saddam’s Former Deputy Hanged In Iraq
Posted March 20, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The man who was vice-president under Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was hanged Tuesday after being convicted in the deaths of 148 Shiites.
Taha Yassin Ramadan, ousted along with Saddam four years ago, was the fourth individual to be put to death for the killings, which occurred after an attempt on the former leader’s life in 1982 in the city of Dujail.
Saddam was also executed in the case, along with his half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who ran Iraq’s Revolutionary Court.
Extra precautions were taken for the execution of Ramadan, after the accidental decapitation of Ibrahim on the gallows and the cell phone recording of Saddam’s death both caused a furor among Sunni Arabs.
Ramadan was convicted in November of murder, forced deportation and torture. The initial sentence was life in prison, but an appeals court suggested that was too lenient and recommended the death sentence. The defendant always maintained his innocence, contending his duties were mainly focused on the economy, not security.
International human rights groups argued the former vice-president should be spared the death sentence, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant it. They also took issue with the trial that eventually found Ramadan guilty, saying it didn’t give him due legal process.
