Execution of Saddam Hussein
Encyclopedia
The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on December 30, 2006 (the first day of Eid-al-Adha). Saddam
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

 was sentenced to death by hanging, after being found guilty and convicted of crimes against humanity
Crime against humanity
Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...

 by the Iraqi Special Tribunal
Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal
The Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal is a body established under Iraqi national law to try Iraqi nationals or residents accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or other serious crimes committed between 1968 and 2003. It organized the trial of Saddam Hussein and other members of his...

 for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ite in the town of Dujail
Dujail
Dujail is a small Shia town in the Salah ad Din Governorate. It is situated about north of Iraq's capital, Baghdad, and has approximately 10,000 inhabitants. It is the site of the 1982 Dujail Massacre....

 in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him.

Saddam Hussein was President of Iraq
President of Iraq
The President of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution." The President is elected by the Council of...

 from July 16, 1979 until April 9, 2003, when he was deposed during the 2003 invasion
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

 by a U.S.-led allied coalition
Multinational force in Iraq
The Multi-National Force – Iraq was a military command, led by the United States, which was responsible for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Multi-National Force – Iraq replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on 15 May 2004, and was later itself reorganized into its successor, United...

. After the capture of Saddam
Operation Red Dawn
Operation Red Dawn was the U.S. military operation conducted on 13 December 2003 in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq, near Tikrit, that captured Iraq President Saddam Hussein, ending rumours of his death. The operation was named after the 1984 film Red Dawn. The mission was assigned to the 1st Brigade...

 in ad-Dawr
Ad-Dawr
Ad-Dawr, is a small agricultural town near the Iraqi town of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's birthplace....

, near his hometown Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...

, he was incarcerated at Camp Cropper
Camp Cropper
Camp Cropper is a holding facility for security detainees operated by the United States Army near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. The facility was initially operated as a high-value detention site , but has since been expanded increasing its capacity from 163 to 2,000 detainees...

. On November 5, 2006, he was sentenced to death by hanging.

On December 30, 2006, he was taken to the prison to be executed. 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
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

 recording of the hanging showed him falling through the trap door of the gallows. The unprofessional and undignified atmosphere of the execution drew criticism around the world from nations that both oppose and support capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

. On December 31, 2006, Saddam Hussein's body was returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja
Al-Awja
It was the birth place of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 1937 and home of many of the leaders of Iraqi provinces during his Presidency over Iraq....

, near Tikrit, and was buried near the graves of other family members. Saddam's body was never shown.

Prior to execution

Two days prior to the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the Ba'ath Party web site. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to unite and to not 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. In the hours before the execution, Saddam ate his last meal
Last meal
The last meal is a customary part of a condemned prisoner's last day. Often, the day of, or before, the appointed time of execution, the prisoner receives a last meal, as well as religious rites, if they desire. In the United States, inmates generally may not ask for an alcoholic drink...

 of chicken and rice, with a cup of hot water and honey. He then said prayers and read verses from the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

.

Time and place

Saddam was executed by hanging at approximately 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...

) on December 30, 2006, the day Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....

 Iraqis begin celebrating Eid al-Adha. Reports conflict 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. The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-American military base Camp Justice, located in Kazimain
Kazimain
al-Kāżimiyyah , is a town located in what is now a northern neighbourhood of Baghdad, Iraq about five kilometres from the city center. Al-Kāżimiyyah is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad....

, a north-eastern suburb of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. Camp Justice was previously used by Saddam as his military intelligence headquarters, then known as Camp Banzai, where Iraqi civilians were taken to be tortured and executed on the same gallows. Contrary to initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, not at the same time as his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti was one of three half-brothers of Saddam Hussein, and a leader of the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi intelligence service...

 and Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamad al-Bandar was an Iraqi chief judge under Saddam Hussein's presidency. He was the head of the Revolutionary Court which issued death sentences against 143 Dujail residents, in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on the president on July 8, 1982 Awad Hamad al-Bandar ...

, who were executed on January 15, 2007.

Proceedings

A senior 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." U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell
William B. Caldwell
William B. Caldwell, IV is a United States Army Lieutenant General who is serving as the Commander, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan, as well as, Commanding General, Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan....

 told journalists in Baghdad that after "physical control" of Saddam was given to the Iraqi government, "the multinational force
Multinational force in Iraq
The Multi-National Force – Iraq was a military command, led by the United States, which was responsible for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Multi-National Force – Iraq replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on 15 May 2004, and was later itself reorganized into its successor, United...

 had absolutely no direct involvement with [the execution] whatsoever." There were no U.S. representatives present in the execution room.

Reports circulated that Saddam's behavior was "submissive" and that he was carrying the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 he had been keeping with him throughout his trial before his execution. Al-Rubiae, who was a witness to Saddam's execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with the invaders." 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
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...

 and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route should not be afraid."


Sami al-Askari
Sami al-Askari
Sami al-Askari is an Iraqi politician and member of the Iraqi National Assembly. al-Askai is associated with the State of Law political coalition During the regime of Saddam Hussein he was active in exile opposition politics, joining the 1992 Executive Council of the Iraqi National Congress as a...

, a witness to the execution, said, "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted, 'Allahu Akbar
Takbir
The Takbīr or Tekbir is the Arabic term for the phrase ' . It is usually translated "God is [the] Greatest," or "God is Great". It is a common Islamic Arabic expression...

. The Muslim Ummah
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...

 will be victorious and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 is Arab!'" Saddam also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the American invaders. After the rope was secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" in reference to Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr
Sayyid Muqtadā al-Ṣadr is an Iraqi Islamic political leader.Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.-Titles:He is...

; Saddam repeated the name mockingly and rebuked the shouts stating, "Do you consider this bravery?" A Shi'a version of an Islamic prayer was also recited by some of those present in the room, an apparent sectarian insult against the Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....

 Saddam. One observer told Saddam:
"Go to hell!"
Saddam replied,
"The hell that is Iraq?"


Another man asked for quiet, saying,
"Please, stop. The man is facing an execution."


Saddam began to recite the Shahada
Shahada
The Shahada , means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet...

 again. As he neared the end of his second recitation, the platform dropped. According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, 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." During the drop there was an audible crack indicating that his neck was broken. After Saddam was suspended for a few minutes, the doctor present listened with a stethoscope
Stethoscope
The stethoscope is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of an animal body. It is often used to listen to lung and heart sounds. It is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins...

 for a heartbeat. After he detected none, the rope was cut, and the body was placed in a coffin.

Alleged postmortem stabbings

According to Talal Misrab, the head guard at Saddam's tomb and 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, not stabbed or mutilated, and he was not humiliated before execution."

Burial

Saddam's body was buried in his birthplace of Al-Awja
Al-Awja
It was the birth place of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 1937 and home of many of the leaders of Iraqi provinces during his Presidency over Iraq....

 in Tikrit, Iraq, near family members, including his two sons Uday
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...

 and Qusay Hussein
Qusay Hussein
Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.- Family :...

, on December 31, 2006 at 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...

). 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's eldest daughter Raghad Hussein
Raghad Hussein
Raghad Saddam Hussein is the eldest daughter of former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein and Sajida Talfah.-Biography:...

, 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. The family also said his body might be buried in Ramadi
Ramadi
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.-History:Ramadi is located in a fertile, irrigated, alluvial plain.The Ottoman Empire founded Ramadi in 1869...

, citing safety concerns, though there are no plans to do this.

Media coverage

The primary news source for the execution was the state-run Iraqi television news station Al Iraqiya
Al Iraqiya
Al Iraqiya is a satellite and terrestrial public broadcaster and television network in Iraq that was set up after the fall of Sadaam Hussein. It is an Arabic language network that serves upwards of 85% of Iraq's population, and is viewed by a significant percentage .The channel began under the...

. A scrolling headline read, "Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history." The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 noted that a doctor, a lawyer, and various officials, were present, and that a video recording of the execution was made. Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya is a Pan-Arabist Saudi-owned Arabic-language television news channel. Launched on March 3, 2003, the channel is based in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates, and is majority-owned by the Saudi broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Center ....

 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 ..."

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, an amateur video shot using a camera phone from a staircase leading up to the gallows surfaced, containing low-quality footage of the entire hanging. The amateur footage, unlike the official footage, included sound; witnesses could be heard taunting Saddam at the gallows.

On January 3, 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. Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie later held a press conference where he announced that three arrests had been made in connection with the investigation into the video recording and leak. 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.

In the scene when the trapdoor was opened, an audible crack sounded indicating his broken neck. After the doctor checked his heartbeat using a stethoscope, he replied none. When this footage was shown in the news, media coverage decided to cut the scene of the opening of the trapdoor.

Reaction

Reactions to Saddam's death were varied. Some strongly supported the execution, particularly those personally affected by Saddam's actions as leader. Some of these victims wished to see him brought to trial for his other actions, alleged to have resulted in a much greater number of deaths than those for which he was convicted. Some believed the execution would boost morale in Iraq, while others feared it would incite further violence. Many in the international community supported Saddam being brought to justice, but objected in particular to the use of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

, which is now abolished throughout most of Europe, South America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Saddam's supporters condemned the action as unjust.

"The world will know that Saddam Hussein lived honestly, died honestly, and maintained his principles. He did not lie when he declared his trial null", said Saddam's lawyers in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Saddam's daughters reported, "They felt very proud as they saw their father facing his executioners so bravely." In Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

, the capital of Jordan, Saddam's eldest daughter, Raghad Hussein
Raghad Hussein
Raghad Saddam Hussein is the eldest daughter of former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein and Sajida Talfah.-Biography:...

, joined protests against her father's execution. Protesters expressed sentiment that Saddam is a martyr and that he was the only Arab leader who said no to the United States.

According to reports from an official, there was dancing and Shi'a chants around Saddam's body after the execution took place. Two days after the execution, the Iraqi government launched an inquiry into the taunting and the way the execution was filmed.

United States' forces braced for a backlash of violence in Iraq due to the execution. United States President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 stated that Saddam's death would not end the violence in Iraq. In Tikrit, Iraq, where Saddam was buried, police barred entrances to and departures from the city for four days as a safety precaution.

Politicians

In a statement, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...

 said, "Justice, in the name of the people, has carried out the death sentence against the criminal Saddam, who faced his fate like all tyrants, frightened and terrified during a hard day which he did not expect." He also stated, "Your generous and pure land has got rid—and for ever—of the filth of the dictator and a black page of Iraq's history has been turned and the tyrant has died." He also said that Saddam Hussein does not represent any group or sect of the Iraqi people.

"[Iraqis] have been waiting for justice to be executed, and I think that Iraqis have received the news that they've been waiting for, for too many years", said Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani
Hussain al-Shahristani
Hussain Ibrahim Saleh al-Shahristani is the current Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy.Born in 1942 in Karbala, Iraq, Shahristani received a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London in 1965, and an MSc from the University of Toronto in 1967, from where he also received a PhD in...

.

"The execution of Saddam Hussein is a big crime. Saddam Hussein was a prisoner of war and was arrested by the U.S. forces, and not by the Iraqi government. It is a crime with which they wanted to cover up many things", a Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....

 politician, Khalaf al-Ulayyan
Khalaf al-Ulayyan
Sheikh Khalaf al-Ulayyan is an Iraqi politician and the leader of the Sunni Islamist-led Iraqi National Dialogue Council. The council joined the Iraqi Accord Front to contest the December 2005 general election...

 said.

"I don't think it will make much difference because the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that very drastic measures have to be taken to confront the militias and restore law and order", said Adnan Pachachi
Adnan Pachachi
Adnan al-Pachachi or Adnan Muzahim Amin al-Pachachi is a veteran Iraqi politician and diplomat. Pachachi was Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1959 to 1965 and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq from 1965 to 1967; he again served as Permanent Representative to the UN...

. "Of course, he has some supporters in Iraq—some of them are armed and they may commit acts of violence and so on—but I don't think it will make much difference, frankly."

The first chief judge who presided over Saddam Hussein's trial, Rizgar Mohammed Amin
Rizgar Mohammed Amin
Rizgar Mohammed Amin is the former chief judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal's Al-Dujail trial. He is the only judge whose name was revealed on the trial's opening on 19 October 2005, the names of the other four judges and all but two of his four colleagues faces not allowed to be shown during...

, has said the execution was illegal, citing the beginning of the Eid al-Adha festival for Iraqi Sunnis, during which executions are banned, and Iraqi law that executions may only be carried out 30 days after the appeal court's decision on the sentencing. The appeals court's December 26, 2006 ruling stated that the sentence was to be carried out within 30 days.

The execution will also prevent trials for other cases, including the chemical weapons attacks on Halabja
Halabja
Halabja , is a Kurdish town in Northern Iraq, located about north-east of Baghdad and 8–10 miles from the Iranian border....

 in 1988. The Center of Halabja against Anfalization and Genocide of the Kurds (CHAK) disapproved of the execution, without having Saddam tried for other cases including the massacre of 8,000 Barzani Kurds
Barzani Kurds
The Barzani tribe is one of the most prominent Kurdish tribes in Kurdistan.The origin of the word Barzani is connected by scholars to the ancient Hurrian god Barzani. The sheikhs of Barzan are descendants of Imadia princes. Their grandfather, Massoud, moved to the village of Nafneka, near Barzan,...

 in 1983, chemical attacks on Sardasht
Sardasht
Sardasht is a city in and the capital of Sardasht County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 37,115, in 8,224 families....

, the 1988 massacres on Anfal
Al-Anfal Campaign
The al-Anfal Campaign , also known as Operation Anfal or simply Anfal, was a genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq, led by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and headed by Ali Hassan al-Majid in the final stages of Iran-Iraq War...

, and other crimes. At the time of his execution, Saddam was on trial, facing charges of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

 at Anfal, which resulted in an estimated 180,000 deaths. "Of course, Saddam has committed too many crimes. He deserves for those crimes capital punishment. But so quickly done, so quickly executed ... and only in one case—it would leave the other cases and leave a lot of secrets without being known", said an Iraqi Kurdish
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...

 politician, Mahmoud Osman.

Populace

Shi'as in Iraq celebrated the execution while Sunni towns saw protests. In Sadr City
Sadr City
Sadr City is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built in 1959 by Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim and later unofficially renamed Sadr City after deceased Shia leader Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr....

, Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

, and Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...

 citizens danced in the streets and honked their car horns with jubilance. In Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...

, Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....

, and Ramadi
Ramadi
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.-History:Ramadi is located in a fertile, irrigated, alluvial plain.The Ottoman Empire founded Ramadi in 1869...

, however, there were reports of protests. David MacDougall, a Fox News reporter located in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, has stated that there has been what is thought to be celebratory gunfire in Baghdad. However, the BBC's correspondent in Baghdad, John Simpson, indicated there had been no more gunfire than is normally heard on the city's streets.

People in Iraq expressed mixed sentiments, with some glad to see the execution carried out. "Now, he is in the garbage of history", said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, a civilian who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins because of Saddam. Ali Hamza, a professor in the Shi'a town of Al Diwaniyah
Al Diwaniyah
Al Diwaniyah is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2002, its population was estimated at 440,927. The area around Al Diwaniyah, which is well irrigated from the nearby Euphrates river, is often considered to be one on the most fertile parts of Iraq, and is heavily cultivated...

 said, "Now all the victims’ families will be happy because Saddam got his just sentence." Some were content to see Saddam gone, but expressed concerns about the instability in Iraq. Haider Hamed, a 34-year-old candy store owner in Baghdad and a Shi'a who lost his uncle due to Saddam, commented, "He's gone, but our problems continue. We brought problems on ourselves after Saddam because we began fighting Shi'a on Sunni and Sunni on Shi'a."

Other Iraqis expressed outrage and viewed Saddam as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...

. "The president, the leader Saddam Hussein is a martyr and God will put him along with other martyrs. Do not be sad nor complain because he has died the death of a holy warrior", said Sheik
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...

 Yahya al-Attawi, a cleric at a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

. Protests occurred in Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....

, where Sunnis broke into the Al-Askari Mosque
Al-Askari Mosque
Al ‘Askarī Mosque or the ‘Askariyya Mosque/Shrine is a Shī‘ah Muslim holy site located in the Iraqi city of Sāmarrā from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shī‘ah mosques in the world, built in 944...

, and a riot broke out at Padush prison in Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...

.

World reaction

At the time of Saddam's capture in December 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 expressed his opinion that Saddam deserved "the ultimate justice", alluding to the death penalty. This put the United States at odds with signatory countries to the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

 (Article 3) and other international treaties that prohibit the death penalty and the extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...

 of suspects to countries where capital punishment may be carried out.

Opposition

Following the execution of Saddam Hussein, leaders from a handful of countries issued statements. Leaders of India, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka, as well as the presidents of
Brazil, and Venezuela expressed opposition to the execution.

Leaders and governments of many European countries also expressed strong disapproval of using capital punishment in this and any case, including Austria,
Denmark,
Finland, Germany,
Italy,
the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal,
Spain,
Sweden, and Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The European Commissioner
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...

 for Development aid
Development aid
Development aid or development cooperation is aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries.It is distinguished...

 Louis Michel
Louis Michel
Louis H. O. Ch. Michel is a Belgian politician. He served in the government of Belgium as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 and was European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid from 2004 to 2009. Since 2009, he has been a Member of the European Parliament...

 stated that the execution of Saddam Hussein is against the fundamental principles of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (EU). The EU is against the death penalty, regardless of the crimes committed. "It is not a big day for democracy", Michel stated to the RTBF
RTBF
Radio Télévision Belge Francophone is the public broadcasting organization of the French Community of Belgium, the southern, French-speaking part of Belgium...

. "The EU is in fierce opposition to the death penalty and there is no exception to that fundamental principle. Cruelty is not to be answered with cruelty. I believe that there were other possible means to revenge the cruelties committed by Saddam. The death penalty is not the right answer." He feared that the execution of Saddam will have a negative impact and that the former dictator will emerge as a martyr. "You don't fight barbarism with acts that I deem as barbaric. The death penalty is not compatible with democracy", he told Reuters. The Reverend Federico Lombardi, of the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, expressed sadness and disapproval of the death penalty. Chile, Belgium, Russia, and Serbia expressed disapproval of capital punishment in this and any case, and also expressed concerns about implications of the execution on stability in Iraq.

Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....

, the President of Egypt, called the execution shameful and unthinkable, and stated that the execution turned the ex-president into a martyr. "I am not saying whether Saddam did or did not deserve the death penalty. I am also not getting into the question of whether this court is lawful under occupation. I knew they wanted to administer the sentence before the end of the year, but why on the Muslim holiday? People are executed all over the world, but what happened in Baghdad on the first day of Eid al-Adha was unthinkable. I didn't believe it was happening", he said. "In the end, no one will ever forget the circumstances and the way in which Saddam was executed. They turned him into a martyr, and the problems in Iraq remained."

Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

, an international organization of which almost all European states are members, made an official statement condemning the execution: "The trial of Saddam Hussein was a missed opportunity ... It was an opportunity for Iraq to join the civilised world. The former Iraqi dictator was a ruthless criminal who deserved to be punished, but it was wrong to kill him. Saddam Hussein is no longer paying for his crimes; he is simply dead ... The death penalty is cruel and barbaric, and I call on the Iraqi authorities to abolish it. It is late, but not too late, for Iraq to join the great majority of civilised and democratic countries in the world who have already abolished the death penalty."

Perhaps one of the most vocal European leaders has been Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...

, the Prime Minister of Italy, who announced that his government would be campaigning at the UN for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. A number of Italian political figures and parties have expressed disgust at the execution, and Prodi plans to use Italy's recent admission as a temporary member of the UN Security Council to campaign the General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

 to adopt a moratorium.

In Turkey, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...

, Deniz Baykal
Deniz Baykal
Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...

, expressed sorrow over the execution of Saddam Hussein, saying, "It is impossible to understand the rejoicing of those who put pressure on every country, including Turkey, for years to abolish the death sentence."

Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

 called the execution of Saddam a "political assassination." Saudi Arabia expressed "surprise and dismay" and regretted the "politicisation" of the trial. A "house of condolences" where people can gather to mourn Saddam was opened in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

. The organizers hung Iraqi flags and pictures of Saddam, and broadcast Iraqi revolutionary songs. Palestinians rallied in other cities for the Iraqi leader as well. A Palestinian street and school has been reported to be named after Saddam Hussein, as well as a youth soccer tournament.

A Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

 reporter based in Afghanistan cited a top Taliban commander saying the death of Saddam Hussein "will boost the morale of Muslims. The jihad in Iraq will be intensified and attacks on invader forces will increase." Fauzan Al Anshori, from the Islamic group of Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia
Indonesian Mujahedeen Council
The Majelis Mujahideen Indonesia , or Indonesian Mujahedeen Council, is an umbrella organisation of Indonesian Islamist groups. During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, MMI established a command post at the Iskandar Muda Air Force base in Banda Aceh city to "help evacuate dead bodies, distribute...

, said Bush, too, should stand trial. "Given the crimes blamed on Saddam, it is unfair if George Bush is not also put before an international tribunal", he said. "Saddam was executed for killing 148 people, Iraqi Shi'a Muslims, while Bush is responsible for the killing of about 600,000 Iraqis since the March 2003 invasion."

Respect and concerns

Many other governments, including Canada,
Indonesia,
Pakistan,
Thailand, and
Greece,
expressed concerns and wishes for stability in Iraq, without passing judgment on whether or not Saddam should have been executed. Respect for the Iraqi judicial process and the judgment in this case was expressed by many other leaders and government officials, including those of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, the People's Republic of China, Japan, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Support

The Peruvian president, Alan García, expressed approval for the execution of Saddam Hussein: "He deserved the maximum sentence in his country" and was "guilty of genocide" for using chemical weapons against other peoples for their religion or their racial origin. However, García questioned the legitimacy of the process against him, saying, "the trial was made in an occupied country. I don’t know if he was hanged for his crimes or just by the occupying forces." Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 said that Saddam "had brought about his own demise" and Poland expressed approval of the execution. A spokesman for Poland's president said, "justice has been meted out to a criminal who murdered thousands of people in Iraq."

In the United States, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 made a statement, "Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself." Celebration in the United States occurred in at least one location in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...

, at the corner of Warren and Greenfield, a heavily Shi'a Iraqi-American community.

In Iran, members of the Islamic republic expressed joy at the news of Saddam's execution:``The Iraqi people are the victorious ones, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Reza Asefi told the Islamic Republic News Agency, while expressing regrets that his trial only focused on one of his crimes and not the one million killed during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88.

Copycat hangings

There were reports of copycat
Copycat effect
Copycat effect may refer to:*Copycat crimes - crimes inspired by or replicating another crime*Copycat suicide - suicide inspired by or replicating another's suicide...

 deaths influenced by the media coverage. Sergio Pelico, a 10-year-old boy in Webster
Webster, Texas
Webster is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 9,083 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States, hung himself in his bedroom. His mother stated that the boy had previously watched a news report about Saddam's execution and decided to hang himself as a form of experimentation. In Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, a 9-year-old boy also died apparently copying the televised execution; his 10-year-old sister assisted with the hanging. A 15-year-old girl from Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, India was reported to have hanged herself after becoming extremely depressed by watching the execution. Copycat hangings are blamed for the deaths of seven people worldwide.

Non-governmental organizations

  • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
    Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948...

    : "All sections of Iraqi society, as well as the wider international community, have an interest in ensuring that a death sentence provided for in Iraqi law is only imposed following a trial and appeal process that is, and is legitimately seen as, fair, credible and impartial. That is especially so in a case as exceptional as this one." – High Commissioner Louise Arbour
  • Human Rights Watch
    Human Rights Watch
    Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...

    : "Saddam Hussein was responsible for massive human rights
    Human rights
    Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

     violations, but that can't justify giving him the death penalty, which is a cruel and inhuman punishment." "History will judge the deeply flawed Dujail trial and this execution harshly." – Director Richard Dicker
  • Amnesty International USA
    Amnesty International USA
    Amnesty International USA is one of many country sections that make up Amnesty International worldwide.Amnesty International is an organization of more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries, with complete independence from government, corporate or national...

    : "The rushed execution of Saddam Hussein is simply wrong. It signifies justice denied for countless victims who endured unspeakable suffering during his regime, and now have been denied their right to see justice served." – Executive Director Larry Cox
  • International Federation of Human Rights
    International Federation of Human Rights
    The International Federation for Human Rights is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the oldest international human rights organisation worldwide and today brings together 164 member organisations in over 100 countries.FIDH is nonpartisan,...

    : "This death sentence will generate more violence and deepen the cycle of killing for revenge in Iraq. It is primarily a settling of old scores rather than any attempt at a just sentence; the whole process is an affront to the dignity and the rights of victims." – President Sidiki Kaba

Legality

Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...

 issued a statement that the "execution follows a flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the rule of law in Iraq." Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

 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." Two days before the execution, the International Federation of Human Rights
International Federation of Human Rights
The International Federation for Human Rights is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the oldest international human rights organisation worldwide and today brings together 164 member organisations in over 100 countries.FIDH is nonpartisan,...

 released a statement calling Head of State to ensure 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
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 under the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...

. Juan Cole
Juan Cole
John Ricardo I. "Juan" Cole is an American scholar, public intellectual, and historian of the modern Middle East and South Asia. He is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. As a commentator on Middle Eastern affairs, he has appeared in print and on...

 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.

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." 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."

Reactions in media

Since the release of the amateur video footage of the execution, several commentators have criticized the atmosphere of the hanging. John Simpson of BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...

 stated that the execution "is shown to be an ugly, degrading business, which was more reminiscent of a public hanging in the 18th century than a considered act of 21st century official justice." Toby Dodge, an expert on Iraq, of Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

 stated that the showing of the execution on television "conforms to a brutal logic that Saddam Hussein used himself" and went further by saying that "this isn't even victor's justice, this is the tawdry work of an insecure government", particularly since Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...

 forced through Saddam's execution just four days after the appeals court upheld his conviction. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

 commented in its online edition that, in the moments immediately preceding the hanging, "the scene had begun to resemble a medieval execution or a wild hanging in Texas" amid repeated instances of taunts hurled at Saddam that drowned out the lonely voice of an unidentified person calling for calm in the face of the gravity of the situation. Writing in The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...

 of India, Siddharth Varadarajan
Siddharth Varadarajan
Siddharth Varadarajan is the Editor of The Hindu, one of India's leading English language newspapers. He has reported on the NATO war against Yugoslavia, the destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and the crisis in Kashmir...

 compared the filming and circulation of Saddam's execution video to the picture postcards of American lynchings of African-American men that were popular in the Deep South in the early years of the 20th century. John Burns and Marc Santora, writing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, described the execution as "a sectarian free-for-all that had the effect, on the video recordings, of making Mr. Hussein, a mass murderer, appear dignified and restrained, and his executioners, representing Shi'ites who were his principal victims, seem like bullying street thugs." The British Pakistani writer Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...

 denounced the proceedings, contrasting favorably the trials of Nazi criminals after World War II with the trial of Saddam, "Where Nuremberg was a more dignified application of victor's justice, Saddam's trial has, till now, been the crudest and most grotesque."

Perception of the Iraq government

Following the leaking of a mobile phone footage of Saddam Hussein's execution, along with the detention on January 3, 2007, of a guard under the Justice Ministry headed by a Sunni Iraqi minister Hashim Abderrahman al-Shibli
Hashim Abderrahman al-Shibli
Hashim Abderrahman al-Shibli is an Iraqi politician from Baghdad who was the Iraqi Justice Minister from 2006 to 2007 in the government of Nouri al-Maliki...

, suspicions have arisen that the ministry may have intended to inflame sectarian tensions. In an interview with La República
La República
La República is a center-left newspaper published in Lima, Peru. It is one of the two main national dailies sold all over the country since it was founded on May 3, 1981. The paper was founded by Gustavo Mohme Llona, a former member of the Peruvian Congress...

 on January 19, 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr
Sayyid Muqtadā al-Ṣadr is an Iraqi Islamic political leader.Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.-Titles:He is...

 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."

United States President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 mentioned on January 4, 2007 that he wished that the execution "had gone on in a more dignified way." Bush later stated, in a January 16, 2007, interview with U.S. television host Jim Lehrer
Jim Lehrer
James Charles "Jim" Lehrer is an American journalist and the executive editor and former news anchor for PBS NewsHour on PBS, known for his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections...

, 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."

See also

  • Capital punishment in Iraq
    Capital punishment in Iraq
    Capital punishment in Iraq was commonly used by the government of Saddam Hussein.After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the U.S. administrator, L...

  • Operation Red Dawn
    Operation Red Dawn
    Operation Red Dawn was the U.S. military operation conducted on 13 December 2003 in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq, near Tikrit, that captured Iraq President Saddam Hussein, ending rumours of his death. The operation was named after the 1984 film Red Dawn. The mission was assigned to the 1st Brigade...

  • Iraq War
  • Death of Osama bin Laden
    Death of Osama bin Laden
    Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....

  • Death of Muammar Gaddafi
    Death of Muammar Gaddafi
    Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, died on 20 October 2011 during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Gaddafi was captured alive after his convoy was attacked by NATO warplanes as Sirte fell on 20 October 2011. He was then beaten and killed by NTC forces...



External links



  • Video of execution:
    • Before Execution — (Reuters) video footage moments before the execution.
    • Full Execution — Camera phone footage of hanging, including audio and footage of death.
    • After Execution - Camera phone footage of deceased Saddam, lying in a coffin.
  • Interviews with Iraqi People — (Al Jazeera) video footage of Iraqi people's reaction after Saddam's execution.
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