Saddam to hang

[faceless]

By Mussab Al-Khairalla

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced toppled leader Saddam Hussein to death by hanging for crimes against humanity. The ousted president, visibly shaken, shouted out "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest) and "Long live the nation!". The Iraqi High Tribunal also handed down death sentences to former revolutionary chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander and Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti. Former Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan was sentenced to life in prison.

The charges stemmed from the killing of 148 Shi'ite men in Dujail after an assassination attempt against Saddam in 1982. A death sentence or life imprisonment generates an automatic appeal, delaying any execution by months at least. Saddam has said he wants to face a military firing squad, not the hangman.

--------------

There's no denying he's been responsible for lots of deaths and crimes against humanity, but they arrested him illegally (by invading Iraq), so how can this trial be legal?

I'll only believe justice will have been carried out if Bush and Blair are hanged too. That's probably a treasonous statement for me to make, but they are mass-murderers in that they signed the orders in as much as Hussein did.

[eefanincan]

I'm not quite sure that I agree with you on the Bush/Blair argument, but I do wonder about the legality of Hussein's arrest with them having invaded Iraq.

I guess at least one dangerous man will be one.

[Skylace]

Two days before the election, surprise, surprise, surprise.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

[maycm]

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

We just need to find a way to get rid of Iran's President Mahmoud (Hitler Mk II) Ahmadinejad

[pirtybirdy]

I'm all for Saddam's death sentence, but I would like to see all human beings serving their death sentence via lethal injection. I know some would like to see Saddam slowly sufficate as air is denied him, but I'd like to euthanize him like we would our pets. We are all still human. Bye Bye Saddam. Say hello to Tookie when you get down there.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

Well one thing's for sure. Saddam was pretty bad but one thing should be remembered. America supplied him arms and loads of money to fight against Iran, so I'd say they actually helped him become who he was because they enabled him. They've been working with him for decades in one way or another.

If he didn't attack Kuwait he'd still be in power and you'd hardly hear anything about him.

Saddam Hussein isn't the only bad one in the middle east, and Americas excuse for invading Iraq was completely ridiculous and full of lies. The one reason I do see though has a slight whiff of oil attached to it.

It could have been any country in the middle east they went after, but Bush senior and junior had a bug up their arse about Saddam and that's why Iraq was invaded. We all know by now there wasn't any WMD and there was no connection whatsoever to 9-11, so what logical reason was there to invade? None!

What about Iran? What about Israel? Their human rights record isn't any better? Look at how Iran treats their citizens? Look at how Israel treats Palestinians?

They're all a fucked up lot but that doesn't give any country the right to invade them.

If Iraq was left alone, 1000's of Iraqis and Americans would be alive today. It's not a proud moment in history for anyone that this death sentence has been handed down, and I actually regret saying I feel he should be hung because wanting him dead isn't going to change the world as he's no longer a threat to anyone where he resides now.

I'd like to see him rot in a cell for the rest of his life because that would be a far worse sentence for the man.

[faceless]

[HandoGod]

Mixed views on the hanging here, although he should be punished for his crimes - I guess this fits the bill.

Hey Sky, is that dog in your Avatar having a fit?

[Skylace]

[faceless]

Blair: I am against death penalty
Press Association
Monday November 6, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

Tony Blair said today he was opposed to the death penalty, even in the case of Saddam Hussein but he said that decisions on whether the former dictator should be executed for his crimes were for the Iraqi courts to make. Speaking at his regular monthly press conference at 10 Downing Street, Mr Blair repeatedly attempted to bat away the question of whether he wants to see Saddam hanged.

But he finally told reporters: "We are against the death penalty, whether it's Saddam or anybody else. However, what I think is important about this is to recognise that this trial of Saddam, which has been handled by the Iraqis themselves and they will take the decision about this, does give us a very clear reminder of the total and barbaric brutality of that regime. That does not alter our position on the death penalty at all, but it simply does give us a reminder of that."


--------------------

I'm not surprised he's against it because he knows that in any fair court he could be accused of the unnecessary killings of civilians as well, and face the same kind of kangaroo court.

[fritz]

[faceless]

[IRiSHMaFIA]

[IRiSHMaFIA]

Saddam to hang by Christmas

By Cyril Dixon

IRAQI tyrant Saddam Hussein, who was sentenced to death yesterday, could face the hangman in as little as three weeks.

The former dictator?s sentence could be carried out before Christmas ? if not earlier ? despite plans for an appeal.

Even if his lawyers manage to delay justice, his execution for crimes against humanity is expected to be carried out by early next year.

News of his sentence sparked rowdy celebrations in his own country and a wave of jubilation across the globe.

US President George Bush said the Iraqi people had finally gained justice for their suffering at the hands of Saddam Hussein.

Speaking in Texas, he said: "This judgment is a major milestone in Iraq?s efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law. The Iraqi victims of this regime have received a measure of justice that they thought would never come."

In the cities of Baghdad and Najaf, Shia Muslims who were persecuted by Saddam, took to the streets singing, dancing, firing guns into the air and carrying banners urging: "Execute Saddam".

President Bush led world leaders who welcomed the decision and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett applauded what she called "Iraqi justice for appalling crimes".

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said Saddam?s death would quash fears that he could somehow return to power and the Church of England said it showed how everyone is "responsible to God".

Yesterday?s historic judgment was announced in the courtroom within Baghdad?s high-security Green Zone, where the 69-year-old fanatic has stood trial for the last year.

Along with seven henchmen, Saddam, a Sunni Muslim, was charged with crimes against humanity for his part in murdering 148 Shia Muslims in the town of Dujail, 24 years ago.

Called into the televised hearing for the last time, Saddam, dressed in a dark suit and white open-neck shirt and carrying a copy of the Koran, looked furious at the verdict.

Shaking as Judge Rauf Abdel Rahman read it out, he yelled "Allahu akbar!" or "God is great" and "Long live Iraq! Long live the Iraqi people! Down with the traitors!"

He furiously denounced the court, the judge and the US-led coalition which overthrew him three years ago. After reading the verdict, Judge Rahman told court officials curtly: "Take him out."

Among the co-defendants were Saddam?s half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of Iraq?s former Revolutionary Court, both also sentenced to death by hanging.

Under Iraqi law, guilty verdicts on murder charges are automatically sent within 10 days to an appeals chamber.

Saddam?s chief lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said yesterday that his legal team would appeal against the "politically motivated" trial in the next few days.

Either way, the appeal could be heard in as little as 20 days and, if as observers expect, it is thrown out, the sentence will be confirmed in about three weeks.

The hanging, to be carried out in a prison with representatives of all sides present, can go ahead immediately, but at the latest within 30 days of the appeal decision.

Saddam?s fate is complicated in that he faces at least one other trial, for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in 1988 with the murder of tens of thousands of Kurds.

Critics also want him charged for a series of other atrocities committed during more than 20 years in power.

Last night, sources said there is no legal precedent for the way Saddam will be dealt with, so it was not clear if he will be executed before or after a subsequent trial.

As news of the momentous court ruling filtered through, Mrs Beckett said: "Appalling crimes were committed by Saddam Hussein?s regime.

"It?s right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice. Today?s verdict and sentences by the Iraqi Higher Tribunal come at the end of a trial during which evidence has been offered and challenged in the full glare of media scrutiny."

Home Secretary John Reid added: "It is in a sense the ultimate expression of the sovereignty of Iraq. They are masters of their own destiny. And they have taken a decision today as controllers of that destiny which I think all of us ought to respect."
Mr Hague said: "It is important that Saddam Hussein faces justice for his crimes, for the sake of both his many victims and of the future of Iraq and its people.

"The verdict and sentencing of Saddam are a matter for Iraqi law and the Iraqi people, but they deserve the support of the international community in ensuring that the decisions reached by the court are respected."

But some British politicians were uneasy, warning it could make Saddam a martyr and speed up Iraq?s descent into civil war.

Ann Clwyd, Tony Blair?s human rights envoy for Iraq, said: "Of course the UK Government is opposed to the death penalty. And I have also said in all my dealings with the Iraqis that I also am opposed to it.

Hopefully Saddam Hussein will continue to be tried for other crimes against the Iraqi people, such as the Anfal where up to 100,000 Kurds were killed or disappeared or were tortured."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "His martyrdom can only add to the instability and unrest in Iraq. He should be detained for the rest of his natural life."

SNP leader Alex Salmond added: "I think it would be a bad idea to execute Saddam Hussein because dead martyrs are more important than live criminals"

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern welcomed the end of the lengthy trial process but said his government opposed capital punishment.

A CofE spokesman said: "The court has reached its verdict on Saddam Hussein in difficult circumstances.

"As Christians we believe that all people are responsible for their actions to God, who is the ultimate judge of us all." Anas Altikriti, spokesman for the British Muslim Initiative, said the "sad reality" was that that the swift execution could stop Iraqis having "their day in court".

He added: "The Iraqi people had many questions they wanted answered. Questions about why he invaded Kuwait, what really happened in the Iran-Iraq war, and who supplied him with weapons to carry out his crimes, for example.

"If he was indeed executed before the Iraqi people could find out what really happened over the last 30 or 40 years, that would be another great tragedy."

Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International?s Middle East and North Africa programme said the process was "flawed and unfair.

"This trial should have been a major contribution towards establishing justice and the rule of law in Iraq, and in ensuring truth and accountability for the massive human rights violations perpetrated by Saddam Hussein?s rule.

"In practice, it has been a shabby affair, marred by serious flaws that call into question the capacity of the tribunal, as currently established, to administer justice fairly, in conformity with international standards."

In Iraq itself, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a televised address: "He is facing the punishment he deserves."

"Maybe this will help alleviate the pain of the widows and the orphans, and those who have been ordered to bury their loved ones in secrecy, and those who have been forced to suppress their feelings and suffering, and those who have paid at the hands of torturers.

In Sadr City, the Shia stronghold of north-east Baghdad, of thousands of people defied a curfew to celebrate on the streets.

One resident, Abu Sinan, 35, shouted: "This is an unprecedented feeling of happiness. The verdict declares that Saddam is paying the price for murdering tens of thousands of Iraqis."

But in Saddam?s home town of Tikrit, loyalists warned of vengeance. Dozens of men and boys waved his portrait and chanted the old Baath party slogan "Saddam, Saddam! I give my life and blood for you, Saddam!"

The tyrant?s outrage in 1982 at Dujail was carried out in revenge for an assassination attempt.

Co-defendants included former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan, who was convicted of murder and given a life term.