Saddam Hussein. Diverse berichten omtrent vonnis

[Lex]

Saddam mogelijk zaterdag al opgehangen

Uitgegeven: 29 december 2006 00:42
ANP

CRAWFORD/BAGDAD - Het Witte Huis verwacht dat de verdreven Iraakse dictator Saddam Hussein mogelijk al zaterdag zal worden opgehangen. Dat heeft een hoge functionaris donderdag gezegd.

De functionaris baseerde zich op informatie van de Amerikaanse autoriteiten in Bagdad. "Ik heb gehoord dat het waarschijnlijk nog een paar dagen duurt."

Iraakse functionarissen ontkenden donderdag juist dat de ex-dictator binnen een maand zal hangen, zoals de Iraakse wet voorschrijft. Volgens hen kan dat alleen als de Iraakse president een decreet uitvaardigt waarin wordt opgedragen tot de onmiddellijke executie. De kans daarop zou klein zijn.

Saddam heeft donderdag een ontmoeting gehad met zijn halfbroers Watban en Sabawi, die eveneens in handen van de Amerikanen zijn. Volgens zijn advocaat heeft Saddam brieven meegegeven voor zijn familieleden. "Hij is zichzelf aan het voorbereiden", verwees de advocaat naar de executie.

[Lex]

Saddam may not hang within month: Iraqi officials

By Mariam Karouny
Thu Dec 28, 1:59 PM ET
Reuters

Iraqi officials backed away on Thursday from suggestions they would hang Saddam Hussein within a month, amid speculation the government is divided over whether to execute the ousted leader quickly.

As the U.S. military death toll in Iraq hit 100 for December so far, closing in on 3,000 after nearly four years of war, President George W. Bush said he was making "good progress" in forming a new Iraq strategy at a meeting with top advisers at his Texas ranch.

"Success in Iraq is vital for our own security," Bush told reporters after meeting Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other officials.

He said he was "making good progress toward coming up with a plan that we think will help us achieve our objectives. As I think about this plan, I always have our troops in mind."

Bush, expected to announce the plans next month, has brushed aside a proposal from a bipartisan panel to ask U.S. foes Iran and Syria for help in stabilizing Iraq and is said to be looking closely at a temporary troop increase.

The sentencing of Saddam on November 5 for crimes against humanity by a U.S.-sponsored Iraqi court was hailed by the Bush administration as a vindication of the 2003 invasion and proof of Iraqi democracy. But as the country slides toward sectarian civil war, Saddam's fate is bound up with factional disputes.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had said he wanted Saddam hanged this year for the killings, torture and other crimes against the Shi'ite population of the town of Dujail in the 1980s. But some of Saddam's fellow Sunnis have warned this could reinforce their alienation and many ethnic Kurds want Saddam first convicted of genocide against them.

The Iraqi High Tribunal confirmed in a Web site posting that an appeal against Saddam's death sentence had failed. The judge who first announced the ruling on Tuesday had referred to a statute which says hangings must take place within 30 days of the failure of an appeal.

But two senior officials told Reuters on Thursday the execution would only happen within 30 days if Iraq's president issued a decree ordering an immediate execution. That seems unlikely. If he does not do so in that time the Justice Ministry can carry out the sentence any day it chooses.

MINISTRY WAITING

The cabinet and president have declined requests for comment on the timing. Under the penal code, a religious holiday lasting until January 6 means no execution should take place before then.

"The Justice Ministry will not implement it before one full month is up," said Deputy Justice Minister Bosho Ibrahim, from the Kurdish minority.

"After one full month the Justice Ministry can decide when it will carry out the execution," he added.

President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, has refused to sign death warrants in other cases but has delegated his powers to his Shi'ite and Sunni vice presidents. In any event, both the constitution and High Tribunal statutes deny the presidency the power to block executions ordered for such serious crimes.

Tribunal spokesman Raed Jouhi said: "There are two options.

"In death sentences issued by our court, if there is a presidential decree within 30 days, then they can carry it out at any time. But if there is no decree, then after these 30 days it becomes obligatory in any case and it will be up to the Justice Ministry to decide when it wants to carry it out."

The United States has welcomed the court's ruling on Saddam and two aides who face similar sentences. However, there have been security concerns over the possibility of Sunni unrest if the executions go ahead.

Violence already is killing dozens of people a day and has forced hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to flee their homes, many for points abroad. In the past month, over 100,000 have registered for aid as internal refugees.

The U.S. military reported five more military deaths on Thursday, taking the number to die since the March 2003 invasion to at least 2,989. A car bomb near a Baghdad stadium killed 10 people and two other bombs killed a further seven in the city.

[Ros]

Executie Saddam zal ernstige consequenties hebben

AMSTERDAM - De Baath Partij, de groepering die het voor het zeggen had tijdens de regeerperiode van Saddam Hussein, heeft laten weten dat de executie van de gewezen Iraakse dictator ernstige consequenties zal hebben. Dit meldt CNN donderdag.

De executie zou latere onderhandelingen tussen de Baath Partij en de Verenigde Staten onmogelijk maken. Ook zou het executeren van Hussein "een gevaarlijke rode lijn zijn die Bush en de zijnen niet moeten passeren."


Definitief

Het Iraakse hof van beroep heeft inmiddels het doodvonnis van Saddam bevestigd. Omdat het zeer waarschijnlijk niet meer door president Jalal Talabani hoeft te worden bekrachtigd, is het vonnis daarmee definitief.

Saddam werd op 5 november tot de strop veroordeeld voor de massamoord op 148 inwoners van het sjiitische plaatsje Dujail in 1982, na een mislukte aanslag op zijn leven.

Volgens een ingewijde bron blijft Saddam vastzitten in een Amerikaanse militaire gevangenis tot de dag van zijn executie. Op die dag wordt hij aan de Iraakse autoriteiten overgedragen

www.nu.nl

[Lex]

Saddam Death Verdict Gets Frown from European Governments

DW staff (th) | www.dw-world.de | © Deutsche Welle. 27-12-2006

An Iraqi reads about the Saddam verdict
After Iraq's appeals court upheld the death sentence against Saddam Hussein Tuesday, European governments reiterated their opposition to the death penalty. But there was little sympathy for the former dictator.
European governments expressed their opposition to the death penalty, but respected Iraq's sovereignty in dealing with Saddam.

According to Iraqi law, Saddam should be hanged within 30 days. Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government has said it will not shy away from carrying out the sentence. Saddam was convicted in November of crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite men from the village of Dujail.

The German government said Wednesday it was satisfied that the trial had been both necessary and fair. While stressing that Germany is "categorically opposed to the death penalty," Saddam deserved to be tried for crimes against humanity, said the government's deputy spokesman Thomas Steg.

"There is nothing to indicate the trial, including the appeals process, did not take place in accordance with the rule of law and legal principles in operation in Iraq," Steg said.

The trial helped Iraq "legally come to terms" with its past, the government said.

Britain agreed, saying that Saddam's execution should be left up to the independent Iraqi tribunal, a foreign office spokesman in London told the AFP news agency.

"Our position is unchanged. We are opposed to the death penalty as a matter of principle, but the decision is one for the Iraqi authorities," the spokesman said.

Reconciliation needed

France reacted similarly, voicing its opposition to capital punishment, but saying that only Iraq could decide how to punish Saddam.

The French Foreign Ministry said that the decision to execute Saddam should be left up to the Iraqi people and the sovereign authorities in Iraq. France's priority remains to work for the reconciliation of the Iraqi people to restore "complete sovereignty," the statement said.

Italy expressed concern about the death sentence. Italian foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said he feared the execution of Saddam would have negative consequences for reconciliation in Iraq.

[Lex]

Saddam letter: Key excerpts

BBC News
12-27-2006, 2018GMT

A letter written on 5 November by Saddam Hussein has been released by the former Iraqi leader's lawyers.
Here are some key excerpts, carried by the Associated Press news agency.

To the great nation, to the people of our country, and humanity,

Many of you have known the writer of this letter to be faithful, honest, caring for others, wise, of sound judgement, just, decisive, careful with the wealth of the people and the state... and that his heart is big enough to embrace all without discrimination.

You have known your brother and leader very well and he never bowed to the despots and, in accordance with the wishes of those who loved him, remained a sword and a banner.

This is how you want your brother, son or leader to be... and those who will lead you (in the future) should have the same qualifications.

Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if He wants, He will send it to heaven with the martyrs, or, He will postpone that... so let us be patient and depend on Him against the unjust nations.

Remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly co-existence...

I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave a space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking and keeps away one from balanced thinking and making the right choice ...

I also call on you not to hate the peoples of the other countries that attacked us and differentiate between the decision-makers and peoples...

'Forgiveness'

Anyone who repents - whether in Iraq or abroad - you must forgive him...

You should know that among the aggressors, there are people who support your struggle against the invaders, and some of them volunteered for the legal defence of prisoners, including Saddam Hussein...

Some of these people wept profusely when they said goodbye to me...

Dear faithful people, I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any faithful, honest believer... God is Great... God is great... Long live our nation... Long live our great struggling people...

Long live Iraq, long live Iraq... Long live Palestine... Long live jihad and the mujahideen.

Saddam Hussein

President and Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Mujahid Armed Forces

[Additional note:]

I have written this letter because the lawyers told me that the so-called criminal court - established and named by the invaders - will allow the so-called defendants the chance for a last word.

But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence - dictated by the invaders - without presenting the evidence.

I wanted the people to know this.

[Lex]

Saddam's Baathists Vow to Attack U.S. Interests Over Saddam Execution

Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Associated Press

AMMAN, Jordan — Saddam Hussein's Baath Party threatened Wednesday to retaliate if the ousted Iraqi leader is executed, warning in an Internet posting it would target U.S. interests anywhere.
The statement appeared on a Web site known to represent the Baath, which was disbanded after U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam in 2003. The site is believed to be run from Yemen, where a number of exiled members of the party are based.
On Tuesday, Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal against a conviction and death sentence for the killing of 148 people who were detained after an attempt to assassinate in Dujail, northern Iraq, in 1982. The court said the former president should be hanged within 30 days.
"Our party warns again of the consequences of executing Mr. President and his comrades," the statement said.
"The Baath and the resistance are determined to retaliate, with all means and everywhere, to harm America and its interests if it commits this crime," the statement added, referring to Baath fighters as "the resistance."
"The American Administration will be held responsible for any harm inflicted on the president because the United States is the decision-maker [in Iraq] and not the puppet Iraqi government."
The statement said that if the execution takes place, it would be impossible for the Baath to take part in any prospective negotiations with U.S. and Iraqi officials to reduce the violence in Iraq.
Saddam's defense lawyers, who are based in Amman, called on Arab governments and the United Nations to intervene to stop the execution.
"Otherwise, all may be participating in what is going on, either actually or due to their silence in face of the crimes, which are being committed in Iraq in the name of democracy," the lawyers said in a statement in English that was e-mailed to The Associated Press bureau.
The statement, signed by "the Defense Committee for President Saddam Hussein," said the court's rejection of Saddam's appeal was part of the "continued shedding of pure Iraqi blood by the current regime in Iraq, which [is] directly connected with the American occupation."
One of Saddam's counsel, Najib al-Nueimi, a former justice minister in the Gulf state of Qatar, said it was now time for Saddam's family to appeal to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
"The defense team has exhausted all the legal channels to appeal this decision, so it is up to the president's family to present an appeal for clemency to the current president, asking him not to sign the execution papers," al-Nueimi said, speaking in a phone interview from Qatar.
Saddam's wife, Sajda, lives in Qatar, and his daughter Raghad, who has supervised his defense team, lives in Amman.
Asked whether the family would appeal to Talabani, al-Nueimi would only say: "It's up to them."
Later in the day, the lawyer of the former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz condemned the verdict saying it was a flagrant violation of the regulations of the court. He believes that court regulations require that an execution occur after 30 days _ not within this period, as the court announced.
Badee Izzat Aref told the AP in a telephone call from Dubai that he met Saddam and Aziz last week in Baghdad and understood from them that Aziz will testify in court for the benefit of Saddam in his ongoing trial. Saddam is currently on trial for the military campaign, codenamed Operation Anfal, that took place during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. An estimated 180,000 Kurds died during the campaign.
"He has very important issues to reveal during the trial," Aref said. "He will uncover the involvement of many important foreign and local personalities."
"The Iraqi government wants to accelerate the execution process to avoid the testimony of Tariq Aziz," Aref said.
Noting that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani he was against the death penalty, whether against Saddam or anybody else, Aref said, "If he gives authority to his vice president to sign the execution order, he will face great embarrassment before his party and the Kurdish people."

[Lex]

Saddam Calls on Iraqis Not to Hate Attackers of Their Country in Internet Letter

Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq — In a letter posted on the Internet Wednesday in the name of Saddam Hussein, the former dictator called on Iraqis not to hate the invaders of their country.
The letter, which was authenticated by one of Saddam's lawyers, appeared to be what the fallen leader would have said if he had been given an opportunity to address the court on the day he was condemned to death last month.
"I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking," Saddam said in the letter published on a Website known to represent the Baath Party.
"I also call on you not to hate the people of the other countries that attacked us and who separated the people from those who govern them," Saddam wrote.
In this respect the letter contradicts a Baath Party statement published on the same Web site earlier Wednesday, in which the party threatened to retaliate against the United States if Saddam is executed.
In Amman, a member of Saddam Hussein's legal team, Issam Ghazzawi, confirmed to The Associated Press that the letter was authentic, saying it was written by Saddam on Nov. 5 — the day he was condemned to death for ordering the killing of 148 people, including children, who had been arrested after an attempt to assassinate him in the northern town of Dujail in 1982.
Ghazzawi said the letter was released on Tuesday — when an Iraqi appeal upheld the death sentence — and published on the Baath Party's Web site on Wednesday.
"You should know that among the aggressors, there are people who support your struggle against the invaders, and some of them volunteered for the legal defense of prisoners, including Saddam Hussein," Saddam wrote in a clear reference to the U.S. attorney Ramsay Clark, who joined his defense team. "Others revealed the scandals of the aggressors and condemned them.
"Some of these people wept profusely when they said goodbye to me," Saddam wrote.
The deposed leader said he was writing the letter because his lawyers had told him that the court would give him an opportunity to say a final word.
"But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence — dictated by the invaders — without presenting the evidence," Saddam wrote.
"Dear faithful people," Saddam added, "I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any honest believer."
Earlier Wednesday, the same Web site published a statement in which the Baath threatened to attack the United States and its interests if Saddam is executed.
"The Baath and the resistance [fighters] are determined to retaliate, with all means and everywhere, to harm America and its interests if it commits this crime," the statement added, referring to the execution that the appeal court has just upheld.
The site is believed to be run from Yemen, where a number of exiled members of the Baath are based. The party was disbanded after U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam in 2003.