In Shi'ite towns and in parts of Baghdad, people poured into the streets, dancing and yelling for joy at the fate of the man who oppressed them for three decades, after the televised hearing. The European Union urged Iraq not to execute Saddam. International human rights groups, which had called for the case to be heard abroad, said the killing of three defence lawyers, the resignation of a judge over political interference and flaws in evidence meant that it fell short of a fair trial.īut US and Iraqi officials hailed the year-long process as proof of the independence of Iraq's judiciary and a new landmark in the development of international war crimes law since Nazi leaders were tried, and some hanged, at Nuremberg 60 years ago. Saddam admitted ordering the execution of 148 men, calling it justified in wartime against allies of Shi'ite Iran. Three Baath party officials were jailed for 15 years and an eighth, minor defendant was acquitted for lack of evidence. His half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, and former judge Awad al-Bander were also sentenced to death for killing, torturing and deporting hundreds of people from the Shi'ite town of Dujail after Shi'ite gunmen tried to kill Saddam there in 1982.įormer vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan received a life term.
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He has been held by US troops at Baghdad airport for three years and any execution, possibly next year, is likely to happen behind prison walls, like those of other criminals this year.īefore then, however, he will continue to stand trial for genocide against the Kurds.
The former leader has been sentenced to death before, in absentia, for trying to assassinate Iraq's then leader in 1959. Bearded and tieless in a black suit, and clutching a Koran, Saddam called for "forgiveness" for "aggressors" and "traitors".Ī lengthy written verdict is expected later in the week. The judge, who earlier ejected former US attorney general Ramsey Clark from the defence panel after he called the court a "mockery of justice", threw out a court guard for chewing gum and laughing as he stood by the fallen strongman in the dock. "The court has decided to sentence Saddam Hussein al-Majid to be hanged until he is dead for crimes against humanity," Abdul Rahman said, ignoring Saddam's earlier bombastic plea that he should face a military firing squad, not the hangman's noose. When he did, shakily, with clear emotion, he yelled the defiant Arab battle cry "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest) and "Long live Iraq" as the judgment was read. Saddam, 69, initially refused to stand when brought in to hear the verdict from Kurdish chief judge Raouf Abdul Rahman, at a quickfire, 45-minute hearing.
Bush's Republicans at elections tomorrow that have been dominated by dismay at Iraq's turmoil.ĭefence lawyers, who said they saw little hope from an appeal in the coming months, dismissed it as "victor's justice". US officials again dismissed charges the verdict was timed to aid President George W. The US, which set up the court after its invasion toppled Saddam in 2003, called it "a good day for the Iraqi people". An Iraqi court sentenced a shaken but defiant Saddam Hussein to hang yesterday for crimes against humanity, sparking joy for Shi'ites he oppressed and resentment among his fellow Sunnis across Iraq's violent sectarian divide.Īs mortar rounds crashed on warring Baghdad neighbourhoods and police reported sporadic clashes despite a curfew on the capital, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for unity after the ousted leader was handed "the punishment he deserves".
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