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{{Short description|2006 execution of former Iraqi president}}
[[Image:Saddam_hangs2.jpg|300px|thumb|The state-run Iraqi news station, [[Al Iraqiya]], provided primary news coverage of the execution, including footage of Saddam on the [[gallows]] moments before execution.<br />''Source: [[Al Iraqiya]] Television / [http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoChannel.aspx?storyid=a12e30546019929f3625ae1d8bb4eb8ae3c00394 Reuters]'']]
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
Former [[President of Iraq]] '''[[Saddam Hussein]]''' ([[April 28]], [[1937]] – [[December 30]], [[2006]]) was [[Capital punishment in Iraq|'''executed''']] by [[hanging]] after being convicted of [[Crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]] following [[trial of Saddam Hussein|his trial and conviction]] for the murder of 148 Iraqi [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'as]] in the town of [[Dujail]] in 1982.<ref name="ap burial">{{cite news | url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061231/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam | title = Hundreds flock to see Saddam's gravesite | work = [[Associated Press]] |date= 2006-12-31 | accessdate = 2006-12-31 }}</ref>
{{Infobox event
| title = Execution of Saddam Hussein
| partof = the [[Iraq War]]
| image = Saddam Hussein at trial, July 2004-edit1.JPEG
|caption = [[Saddam Hussein]] at his trial in July 2004
| date = {{start date and age|2006|12|30|df=y}}
| venue = [[Camp Justice (Iraq)|Camp Justice]], [[Kadhimiya]], [[Baghdad]], Iraq
}}
{{Saddam Hussein series}}
Former Iraqi president [[Saddam Hussein]] was executed on 30 December 2006.<ref name="ap burial">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/saddam-buried-in-village-of-his-birth-1.586906|title=Saddam buried in village of his birth|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=31 December 2006|access-date=31 December 2006}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Saddam was sentenced to death by [[hanging]], after [[Trial of Saddam Hussein|being convicted]] of [[crimes against humanity]] by the [[Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal|Iraqi Special Tribunal]] for the [[Dujail massacre]]—the killing of 148 [[Shia Islam in Iraq|Iraqi Shi'ites]] in the town of [[Dujail]]—in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/world/middleeast/05cnd-saddam.html?em&ex=1162875600&en=a28b7d91d06de1ba&ei=5087%0A|title=Saddam Hussein Is Sentenced to Death|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 November 2006 | first=Kirk | last=Semple | archive-date=9 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009021505/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/world/middleeast/05cnd-saddam.html}}</ref>


The [[Federal government of Iraq|Iraqi government]] released an official video of his execution, showing him being led to the gallows, and ending after the hangman's noose was placed over his head. International public controversy arose when a [[mobile phone]] recording of the hanging showed him surrounded by a contingent of his countrymen who jeered him in Arabic and praised the Shia cleric [[Muqtada al-Sadr]], and his subsequent fall through the trap door of the gallows.
Saddam Hussein was the president of [[Iraq]] from [[July 16]], [[1979]] until [[April 9]], [[2003]], when he was deposed during the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] by U.S.-led forces.


Saddam's body was returned to his birthplace of [[Al-Awja]], near [[Tikrit]], on 31 December and was buried near the graves of other family members.
==Trial==
[[Image:Saddam verdict.png|thumb|300px|right|Saddam at sentencing]]
{{main|Trial of Saddam Hussein}}
Held in custody by U.S. forces at [[Camp Cropper]] in Baghdad, on [[June 30]], [[2004]], Saddam Hussein and eleven senior [[Baath Party|Ba'athist]] officials were handed over to the [[Iraqi Interim Government]] to stand trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. A few weeks later, he was charged by the [[Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal|Iraqi Special Tribunal]] with the mass killings of the inhabitants of the village of [[Dujail]] in [[1982]] following a failed assassination attempt against him.


==Background==
On [[November 5]], [[2006]], Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. Verdict and sentencing were both appealed but subsequently affirmed by Iraq's Supreme Court of Appeals.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061226/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam_s_sentence | title=Iraq court upholds Saddam death sentence | publisher= [[Associated Press]] | date=December 26, 2006 | accessdate=2006-12-30 | author=Christopher Torcia }}</ref>
{{See also|Capture of Saddam Hussein|Interrogation of Saddam Hussein|Trial of Saddam Hussein}}

After being sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, Saddam requested to be executed by [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]] rather than hanging, claiming it as the lawful military capital punishment and citing his former position of commander-in-chief of the Iraqi military. This request was denied by the court.<ref name="The Sydney Morning Herald 2006">{{cite web | title=The Sydney Morning Herald 404 Page | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=2006-07-26 | url=http://www.smh.com.au/not-found.html | access-date=2018-02-23 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="The Washington Times 2006">{{cite web | title=Saddam prefers death by shooting | website=The Washington Times | date=2006-01-03 | url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jan/3/20060103-123938-5632r/ | access-date=2018-02-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213005908/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jan/3/20060103-123938-5632r/ | archive-date=13 December 2014 | url-status=live}}</ref> Two days prior to the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party]] website. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to unite, and not to hate the people of countries that invaded Iraq, like the United States, but instead the decision-makers. He said he was ready to die as a martyr and that he was at peace with his death sentence.<ref>{{cite news|title=Saddam Bids Iraqis Farewell in Letter, Urges Unity|url=http://www.redbolivia.com/noticias/News%20in%20English/36246.html|publisher=RedBolivia|date=28 December 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007234244/http://www.redbolivia.com/noticias/News%20in%20English/36246.html|archive-date=7 October 2007}}</ref> Hours before the execution, Saddam ate his [[last meal]] of chicken and rice with a cup of hot water with honey.
Although the United States approved of the trial, an attempt was made to postpone, stay, or overturn the execution order. The US government appears to have been concerned with the perception of the legal validity of the execution. Attempts were made to contact the Iraqi government to validate the legality of the execution under the new [[Constitution of Iraq|Iraqi constitution]]. The parliament, under the notion{{fact}} that the security issues presented a need to act swiftly, dismissed the request. Further attempts were made to get a stay of execution from the anti-death penalty President [[Jalal Talibani]] or a clearance that he had no objections. The Iraqi government determined that no clearance from Talibani was necessary.<ref>{{cite news
|title = Top Iraqi source: U.S. tried to delay execution
|url =http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/02/saddam.execution/index.html
|publisher =cnn.com
|date=2007-01-02
|accessdate =2007-01-02}}</ref>

Lawyers for Saddam Hussein sought unsuccessfully to block his transfer from U.S. custody to the custody of Iraqi officials in court documents filed on the afternoon of [[December 29]] at a federal court in Washington D.C,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=0853624d-1ccd-4ee7-bf52-ec45cac23afd| title = Lawyers for Saddam seek court order in United States to block execution| accessdate = 2006-12-30|date= 2006-12-29| publisher = [[Associated Press]]}} </ref><ref>[http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/iraq/inresaddam122906app.html Application for Stay of Execution]</ref> meanwhile officials from the U.S. tried to delay the execution due to concerns the execution would be seen as Shiite retribution.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/02/saddam.execution/index.html]</ref>


==Execution==
==Execution==
===Prior to execution===
===Time and place===
Saddam was executed by hanging at approximately 05:50 UTC +03:00 on the first day of [[Eid al-Adha]] (30 December 2006).<ref name="msnbc coverage">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16389128|title=Saddam Hussein executed, ending era in Iraq|work=NBC News|date=29 December 2006|access-date=29 December 2006}}</ref><ref name="skynews">{{cite news |date=29 December 2006 |title=Saddam Body Flown Home |publisher=Sky News |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13559626,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=29 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522133111/http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/200806413559626 |archive-date=22 May 2011}}</ref> Reports conflicted 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.<ref name="msnbc coverage"/><ref name="skynews"/><ref name="executed 610">{{cite news|url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/newswire.php/news/reuters/2006/12/31/world/saddam-hanged-but-no-let-up-in-iraq-violence.html|title=Saddam hanged but no let-up in Iraq violence|agency=Reuters|date=31 December 2006|access-date=5 January 2007}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Two days prior to the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the [[Baath Party]] Web site. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to embrace unity, to hate not the people of countries that invaded Iraq but instead the acts of the decision-makers, and that he was at peace with his death sentence.<ref>{{cite news |title=Saddam Bids Iraqis Farewell in Letter, Urges Unity |url=http://www.redbolivia.com/noticias/News%20in%20English/36246.html |publisher=RedBolivia |date=December 28, 2006}}</ref>


The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-U.S. military base [[Camp Justice (Iraq)|Camp Justice]], located in [[Kadhimiya|Kazimain]], a north-eastern suburb of [[Baghdad]]. Contrary to initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, not at the same time as his co-defendants [[Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti]] and [[Awad Hamed al-Bandar]], who were executed on 15 January 2007. Saddam's cousin [[Ali Hassan al-Majid]] was also sentenced to death and was hanged on 25 January 2010.
In the hours before the execution, Saddam ate his [[last meal]], chicken and rice with a cup of hot water and honey. He then said [[prayer]]s and verses from the [[Qur'an]], which was sent to him by his wife.<ref name="alarabiya-lasthour">{{cite news |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2006/12/31/30360.htm |title=شريط يظهر نطقه للشهادتين ومصوّر الإعدام يروي لحظة النهاية تفاصيل الساعة الأخيرة في حياة الرئيس السابق صدام حسي (Tape shows last details of Saddam's life) |publisher=Al-Arabiya |date=December 31, 2006 |language=Arabic}}</ref>


===Proceedings===
===Time and place of execution===
A senior Iraqi official who was involved in the events leading to Saddam's demise 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=78137|title=Iraqi Sunnis vent anger over video of Saddam's fighting|work=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]]|date=3 January 2007|access-date=3 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105045000/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=78137|archive-date=5 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> U.S. military spokesman [[Major general (United States)|Maj. Gen.]] [[William B. Caldwell IV|William Caldwell]] told journalists in Baghdad that after "physical control" of Saddam was given to the Iraqi government, "the multinational force had absolutely no direct involvement with [the execution] whatsoever."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://cbs2.com/national/topstories_story_003084722.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927182124/http://cbs2.com/national/topstories_story_003084722.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=27 September 2007|title=U.S. Distances Itself From Saddam Hanging|work=CBS News|date=3 January 2007|access-date=3 January 2007}}</ref> There were no U.S. representatives present in the execution chamber.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/29/hussein/index.html|title=Hussein executed with 'fear in his face'|work=CNN|date=30 December 2006|access-date=30 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229161008/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/29/hussein/index.html|archive-date=29 December 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Sudarsan|last=Raghavan|title=Saddam Hussein is Put to Death|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122900142.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=30 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809140428/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122900142.html|archive-date=9 August 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
Saddam was executed at approximately 06:00 local time (03:00 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]) on [[December 30]], [[2006]] by [[hanging]], as Sunni Iraqis began celebrating [[Eid ul-Adha]].<ref name="msnbc coverage">{{cite news | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16389128/ | title = Saddam Hussein executed | work = [[MSNBC]] |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-29 }}</ref><ref name="bbc">{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6218485.stm | title = Saddam Hussein executed in Iraq | work = [[BBC News]]|date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13559626,00.html | title = Saddam Hussein Executed | work = [[Sky News]] |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-29 }}</ref> The execution took place at the Iraqi army base [[Camp Justice]] in [[Kazimain]], a north-eastern suburb of [[Baghdad]]. 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.<ref name="dawn">{{cite news | url = http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-12-30T054650Z_01_IBO034602_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C2-NextArticle-2 | title = Saddam hanged at dawn | work = [[Reuters]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> Contrary to initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, and not at the same time as his co-defendants [[Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti]] and [[Awad Hamed al-Bandar]], who are to be executed after Eid ul-Adha.<ref name="dawn"/>


Reports circulated that Saddam's behavior was "submissive" and that he was carrying the [[Quran|Qur'an]] he had been keeping with him throughout his trial before his execution. Iraqi National Security Advisor [[Mowaffak al-Rubaie]], who was a witness to Saddam's execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with the invaders".<ref>{{cite news|title=A Historic Day For Iraq |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,30000-witness_301206_0700,00.html |work=Sky News |date=30 December 2006 |access-date=29 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070122042840/http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,30000-witness_301206_0700,00.html |archive-date=22 January 2007}}</ref> Al-Rubaie reportedly asked Saddam if he had any remorse or fear, to which Saddam replied:
===Execution proceedings===
{{wikinews|Saddam Hussein executed by hanging}}
The last legal step, before the execution proceeded, was for Saddam to be handed a red card. This was completed by an official of the court with details of the judgment and a notice that execution was imminent.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/29/news/saddam.php | title = Iraq is preparing for Saddam's hanging | work = [[International Herald Tribune]] |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-31 }}</ref> According to a senior Iraqi official, Saddam seemed "very calm and did not tremble" before his execution,<ref name="dawn"/> although some reports claim he struggled slightly while being retrieved from his cell.<ref name="msnbc coverage"/> Iraq's national security adviser, [[Mowaffak al-Rubaie]], told [[Al-Arabiya]] television that Saddam refused to wear a black hood over his head and told him, "Don't be afraid."<ref name="cnn">{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/29/hussein/index.html | title = Hussein executed with 'fear in his face' | work = [[CNN]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> The former president recited the [[Shahadah]], or Muslim profession of faith, but made no other remark as policemen escorted him to the scaffold.<ref name="dawn"/>


{{quote|No, I am a militant and I have no fear for myself. I have spent my life in [[jihad]] and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route should not be afraid.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/world/middleeast/31gallows.html?ex=1325221200&en=472d36ebe903eabd&ei=5088|title=On the Gallows, Curses for U.S. and 'Traitors'|work=The New York Times|first=Marc|last=Santora|date=31 December 2006|access-date=3 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204122321/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/world/middleeast/31gallows.html?ex=1325221200&en=472d36ebe903eabd&ei=5088|archive-date=4 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
There were no U.S. representatives present in the execution room.<ref name="cnn"/><ref>{{cite news | first = Sudarsan | last = Raghavan | title = Saddam Hussein is Put to Death | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122900142.html | publisher = [[Washington Post]] | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> There were reports that Saddam's behavior was "submissive" and that he was carrying the [[Qur'an]] he had been keeping with him throughout his trial prior to his execution. Mowaffak al Rubiae, Iraq's National Security adviser, who was a witness to Saddam's execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with [[Persian people|Persians]] and the Americans."<ref>{{cite news |title ='A Historic Day For Iraq'|url =http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,30000-witness_301206_0700,00.html| publisher =Sky News|date=2006-12-30|accessdate =2006-12-30}}</ref> Sami al-Askari, a witness to the death, said, "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted, '[[takbir|Allah is great]]. The [[ummah|Muslim Ummah]] will be victorious and [[Palestine]] is [[Arab]].'"<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/local_story_364011638.html?keyword=topstory | title = Saddam Hussein dies on the gallows, exiting the Iraqi stage after a long, brutal reign | work = [[Associated Press]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> He also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the Americans and the Persians.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6220087.stm | title = Witness to Saddam's death | work = [[BBC]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> After the rope was secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" in reference to [[Muqtada al-Sadr]]; Saddam repeated the name mockingly and denounced the guards' shouts stating, "Do you consider this bravery?"<ref name="curses">{{cite news|
title=On the Gallows, Curses for U.S. and ‘Traitors’|
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/world/middleeast/31gallows.html?hp&ex=1167541200&en=5db66dae7cb12d0e&ei=5094&partner=homepage|
work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2006-12-30|
accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref><ref>[http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2116900.ece Guards taunted Saddam in final seconds]''The Independent'', January 1, 2007.</ref><ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein/index.html Witness: Hussein's last words mock Shiite cleric]", ''CNN'', December 30, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2006.</ref><ref name="cnncellphone">{{cite video|
people=Carol Lin|
year=2006-12-30|
format=Windows Media|
title=Camera phone in Hussein's execution chamber|
publisher=CNN|
url=http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/world/2006/12/30/lin.hussein.execution.web.video.affl&wm=10|
accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref> A [[Shiite]] version of an Islamic prayer was also recited by some of those present in the room, an apparent sectarian insult against the [[Sunni]] Saddam."<ref>{{cite news |title ='Saddam hanging taunts evoke ugly past'|url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6221751.stm| publisher =BBC|date=2006-12-30|accessdate =2007-01-01}}</ref>
One observer told Saddam, "Go to hell! [[Insha'Allah]]." Saddam replied, "The hell that is Iraq?"<ref>{{cite news |title ='"Fallen tyrant" taunted in Saddam video'| url =http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061231/ts_nm/iraq_saddam_taunts_dc| publisher =Reuters|date=2006-12-31|accessdate =2007-01-02}}</ref> Another man asked for quiet, saying, "Please, stop. The man is facing an execution."


Witnesses described Saddam as appearing "broken and weak" yet "unrepentant" prior to his hanging.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-02-15 |title=Saddam goes to the gallows |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/saddam-goes-to-the-gallows-1052294 |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}</ref> [[Sami al-Askari]], a witness to the execution, said, "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted, '[[Takbir|Allahu Akbar]]. The Muslim [[Ummah]] will be victorious and Palestine is Arab!{{'"}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/local_story_364011638.html?keyword=topstory|title=Saddam Hussein dies on the gallows, exiting the Iraqi stage after a long, brutal reign|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=30 December 2006|access-date=30 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906235843/http://enidnews.com/localnews/x518662645/Saddam-Hussein-dies-on-the-gallows-exiting-the-Iraqi-stage-after-a-long-brutal-reign?keyword=topstory|archive-date=6 September 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Saddam also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the American invaders.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6220087.stm|title=Witness to Saddam's death|work=BBC News|date=30 December 2006|access-date=30 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103120208/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6220087.stm|archive-date=3 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> After the rope was secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" in reference to [[Muqtada al-Sadr]]; Saddam laughed, repeating the name mockingly and rebuked the shouts stating, "Do you consider this bravery?"<ref name="nyt"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CCE38D74-9851-4749-A85F-0B2D729B2C90.htm |title=Attempts to anger Saddam moments before his execution, Al Jazeera, 1 January 2007. |access-date=8 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108202120/http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CCE38D74-9851-4749-A85F-0B2D729B2C90.htm |archive-date=8 January 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/guards-taunted-saddam-in-final-seconds-430436.html |title=Guards taunted Saddam in final seconds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707124956/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/guards-taunted-saddam-in-final-seconds-430436.html |archive-date=7 July 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=28 May 2023 |work=The Independent |date=1 January 2007 |first=Anne |last=Penketh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Witness: Saddam Hussein argued with guards moments before death |work=CNN |date=30 December 2006 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein/index.html |access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref><ref name="cnncellphone">
Saddam began to recite the Shahadah again, an act of faith performed by [[Muslims]] prior to the time of death (if anticipated). As he neared the end of his second recitation, the platform dropped.<ref name="cnncellphone"/><ref name="cellphone">{{cite video|
{{cite video |url=http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/world/2006/12/30/lin.hussein.execution.web.video.affl&wm=10 |title=Camera phone in Hussein's execution chamber |date=30 December 2006 |last=Lin |first=Carol |publisher=CNN |access-date=30 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107161218/http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=%2Fvideo%2Fworld%2F2006%2F12%2F30%2Flin.hussein.execution.web.video.affl&wm=10 |archive-date=7 January 2007 |url-status=live |format=Windows Media}}
people=Unidentified videographer| year=2006| title=Video| format=MMS| publisher=Anwarweb.net| url=http://www.metacafe.com/watch/362748/saddam_hussein_execution_amateur_footage/| accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref> According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', the executioners "cheer their Shiite 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."<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world/middleeast/01sunnis.html?ex=1325307600&en=9a4812fde9db44e5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss | title = For Sunnis, Dictator’s Degrading End Signals Ominous Dawn for the New Iraq | work = [[The New York Times]] |date= 2007-01-01 | accessdate = 2007-01-01 }}</ref> After Saddam was suspended for a few minutes with a broken neck, the doctor listened with a [[stethoscope]] for a heartbeat. There was none. The rope was cut, and his body was placed in a [[coffin]].<ref name="alarabiya-lasthour"/>
</ref> A [[Shia Islam|Shi'a]] version of an Islamic prayer was recited by some of those present in the room while Saddam recited a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] version of an Islamic prayer.<ref>{{cite news|title=Saddam hanging taunts evoke ugly past|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6221751.stm|work=BBC News|date=30 December 2006|access-date=1 January 2007|first=John|last=Simpson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107092109/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6221751.stm|archive-date=7 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> One observer told Saddam:


{{quote|Go to hell!}}
==Burial==
Saddam Hussein's body was buried in his birthplace of [[Al-Awja]] in [[Tikrit]], [[Iraq]], near family members, including his two sons [[Uday Hussein|Uday]] and [[Qusay Hussein]], on [[December 31]] [[2006]] at 04:00 local time (01:00 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]).<ref name="burial">{{cite news | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11669236/ | title = Tribal chief: Saddam buried in native village | work = [[Reuters]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref><ref name="buried with family">{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein.funeral/index.html | title = Report: Saddam Hussein to be buried with sons | work = [[CNN]] |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-29 }}</ref><ref name="bbc burial">{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6220677.stm | title = Report: Saddam is buried in home village | work = [[BBC]] |date= 2006-12-31 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> 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, head of the Albu Nasir tribe and governor of [[Salaheddin]], to be buried.<ref name="burial"/><ref name="cnn burial">{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/31/hussein.funeral/index.html | title = Hussein buried in same cemetery as sons | work = [[CNN]] |date= 2006-12-31 | accessdate = 2006-12-31 }}</ref> Sheikh Ali al-Nida said, "He was cleaned and wrapped according to Islamic teachings. We didn't see any unnatural signs on his body."<ref name="ap burial"/> He was buried about three kilometers (2 miles) from his two sons in the same cemetery.<ref name="ap burial"/>


Saddam replied,
Saddam's eldest daughter [[Raghad Hussein]], in 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.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30825677.htm | title = Saddam daughter asking body be buried in Yemen | work = [[Reuters]] |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-29 }}</ref> It was also said by the family that his body might be buried in [[Ramadi]], citing safety concerns, though this is not the case.<ref name="burial"/> The Iraqi government said they are not worried about political pilgrimages to his gravesite.<ref name="bbc burial"/>


{{quote|The hell that is Iraq?<ref>{{cite news|title='Fallen tyrant' taunted in Saddam video|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL3180350420070101|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907222457/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/01/01/us-iraq-saddam-taunts-idUSL3180350420070101|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 September 2012|last=Parsons|first=Claudia|work=Reuters|date=31 December 2006|access-date=7 December 2007}}</ref>}}
==Media coverage==
[[Image:Saddam-Hussein Cell Phone.PNG|270px|thumb|A screenshot of the amateur video shot using a mobile phone showing [[Saddam Hussein]] seconds before the trapdoor opens. The video was then uploaded on the Internet, with source unknown.]]


In response to the heckling of one of the masked guards (the man said "You have destroyed us, you have killed us. You have made us live in destitution!"), Saddam replied: "I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persians and Americans."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Santora |first=Marc |date=2006-12-31 |title=On the Gallows, Curses for U.S. and 'Traitors' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/world/middleeast/31gallows.html |access-date=2022-05-16 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
The primary news source for the execution was the state-run Iraqi television news station [[Al Iraqiya]]. A scrolling headline read, "Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history." The [[BBC]] noted that a doctor, lawyer, and various officials were present, and a video recording of the execution was made.<ref name="bbc"/> [[Al Arabiya]] reported that Saddam's lawyer had confirmed Saddam's death. His death was also confirmed by [[Al Iraqiya]]. An announcer said, "criminal Saddam was hanged to death."<ref name="fox">{{cite news | url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240057,00.html | title = Saddam Hussein Executed by Hanging in Iraq | work = [[Fox News Channel|FOX news]] |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-29 }}</ref>


The deputy prosecutor, Munqith al-Faroun, responded to hecklers, stating,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raghavan |first=Sudarsan |date=31 December 2006 |title=In Hussein's Last Minutes, Jeers and a Cry for Calm |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/30/AR2006123000392.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924163401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/30/AR2006123000392.html |archive-date=24 September 2017 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
Major news networks carried official video of the moments leading up to Saddam's execution. Pictures of Saddam's dead body in a shroud were also released by the Iraqi government. While officially released footage of the event stopped short of showing the actual execution,<ref name="bbc"/> an amateur video shot using a [[mobile phone]] from a staircase leading up to the noose has since surfaced, containing low-quality footage of the entire hanging.<ref name="cellphone"/> The amateur footage was also notable for the fact that, unlike the official footage, it included sound: witnesses could be heard taunting Saddam.<ref name="cellphone2">{{cite news | url = http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070102/saddam-web-tv.htm | title = Saddam Execution Images Shown on TV, Web | author = Bauder, David | work = International Business Times |date= 2007-01-02 | accessdate = 2006-01-02 }}</ref> Saddam's death was recorded in [[HDTV]], but has not yet been released to the viewing public.<ref name="hdtv">{{cite web| url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16401644/site/newsweek| title = Videographer comments| accessdate = 2006-12-30|date= 2006-12-30| publisher = [[MSNBC]]}} </ref>


{{quote|Please, stop. The man is facing an execution.}}
==Reaction==
Reactions to Saddam's death were varied. Some strongly supported the execution, particularly those personally affected by Saddam's actions as dictator. Some of these victims, however, wished to see him brought to trial for his other actions, alleged to have resulted in a much greater number of deaths than those he was convicted for. 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]], which is now abolished throughout most of Europe, South America, and Australia. Saddam's supporters condemned the action as unjust.


Saddam began to recite the [[Shahada]] twice. Before finishing his second recitation, the trapdoor sprang. His last word was, "Muhammad."<ref name="cnncellphone"/> According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world/middleeast/01sunnis.html?ex=1325307600&en=9a4812fde9db44e5&ei=5088|title=For Sunnis, Dictator's Degrading End Signals Ominous Dawn for the New Iraq|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1 January 2007|access-date=1 January 2007|first=Sabrina|last=Tavernise|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204122438/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world/middleeast/01sunnis.html?ex=1325307600&en=9a4812fde9db44e5&ei=5088|archive-date=4 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> During the drop, there was an audible crack, indicating that Saddam's [[cervical fracture|neck was broken]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nationalledger.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=8&num=10730|title=Saddam Hussein Hanging Video Shows Defiance, Taunts and Glee|work=National Ledger|date=1 January 2007|access-date=20 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323154042/http://www.nationalledger.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=8&num=10730|archive-date=23 March 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> After Saddam was suspended for a few minutes, the doctor present listened with a [[stethoscope]] for a heartbeat. After he detected nothing, the rope was cut, and the body was placed in a coffin. Saddam was confirmed dead at 06:03.<ref name="alarabiya-lasthour">{{cite news|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2006/12/31/30360.htm|script-title=ar:شريط يظهر نطقه للشهادتين ومصوّر الإعدام يروي لحظة النهاية تفاصيل الساعة الأخيرة في حياة الرئيس السابق صدام حسي |trans-title=Tape shows last details of Saddam's life|publisher=Al-Arabiya|date=31 December 2006|language=ar|access-date=2 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104191824/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2006/12/31/30360.htm|archive-date=4 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>
"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.<ref name="msnbc coverage"/>


===Alleged postmortem stabbings===
A spokeswoman for Saddam's daughters reported, "They felt very proud as they saw their father facing his executioners so bravely."<ref name="bbc reactions"/> In [[Amman]], the capital of [[Jordan]], Saddam's eldest daughter, [[Raghad Hussein]], joined protests against her father's execution.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6222975.stm Saddam's supporters vow revenge] ''BBC News'', [[2007-01-01]]</ref> Protesters expressed sentiment that Saddam is a martyr, and that he was the only Arab leader who said no to the United States.<ref name="alarabiya-raghad">{{cite news |title=طفل باكستاني يشنق نفسه أثناء اللعب مقلدا إعدام صدام حسين (Raghad Saddam Hussein attends a protest in Jordan to protest the execution of her father) |publisher=Al-Arabiya |date=January 1, 2007 |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2007/01/01/30399.htm |language=Arabic}}</ref>
According to Talal Misrab, the head guard at Saddam's tomb, 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 stated, "I oversaw the whole process from A–Z and Saddam Hussein's body was not stabbed or mutilated, and he was not humiliated before execution."<ref>{{cite news|last=Haynes|first=Deborah|author-link=Deborah Haynes|date=2008-11-01|title=Saddam Hussein's body was stabbed in the back, says guard|work=[[The Times]]|location=Al-Awja, Iraq|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/saddam-husseins-body-was-stabbed-in-the-back-says-guard-3vmjfw7g2n6|url-status=live|access-date=2008-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122022739/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article5058550.ece|archive-date=22 November 2010}}</ref>


==Burial==
According to reports from an official, there was dancing and Shia chants around Saddam's body after the execution took place.<ref name="cnn"/> Two days after the execution, the Iraqi government launched an inquiry into the taunting and the way the execution was filmed.<ref name="pakistantimes">{{cite news |url=http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/01/02/top9.htm |title=Iraq to probe filming of Saddam Hanging |publisher=Pakistan Times |date=January 2, 2007}}</ref>
Saddam's body was buried in his birthplace of [[Al-Awja]] in [[Tikrit]], Iraq, near family members, including his two sons [[Uday Hussein|Uday]] and [[Qusay Hussein]], on 31 December 2006 at 04:00 local time (01:00 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]).<ref name="burial">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11669236 |title=Iraqis gather in Saddam hometown after burial |agency=[[Reuters]] |date=2006-12-30 |access-date=2006-12-30}}</ref><ref name="buried with family">{{cite news |date=2006-12-29 |title=Report: Saddam Hussein to be buried with sons |work=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein.funeral/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=2006-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101062448/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein.funeral/index.html |archive-date=1 January 2007}}</ref><ref name="bbc burial">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6220677.stm |title=Report: Saddam is buried in home village |work=[[BBC News]] |date=2006-12-31 |access-date=2006-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103174220/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6220677.stm |archive-date=3 January 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> His body was transported to Tikrit by a U.S. military helicopter, where he was handed over from Iraqi government possession to Sheikh Ali al-Nida, the late head of the Albu Nasir tribe and governor of [[Saladin Governorate|Saladin]]. It was buried about three kilometers (2 mi) from his two sons' bodies, in the same extensive cemetery. Saddam's grave, in a family plot, was dug into the floor of an octagonal, domed building he had ordered the construction of in the 1980s for religious festivals at the site.


Saddam's eldest daughter [[Raghad Hussein|Raghad]], 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30825677.htm |title=Saddam daughter asking body be buried in Yemen |agency=[[Reuters]] |date=2006-12-29 |access-date=2006-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612165056/http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30825677.htm |archive-date=12 June 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The family also said his body might be buried in [[Ramadi]], citing safety concerns, though there are no plans to do this.<ref name="burial"/> The tomb where Saddam's body was buried was later destroyed during fighting between [[Islamic State]] militants and Iraqi forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31901568|title=Saddam's tomb destroyed near Tikrit|date=16 March 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=2 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701192257/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31901568|archive-date=1 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Saddam's body had reportedly been removed by a Sunni tribal group before the tomb's destruction.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-saddam-idUSKBN0G61GM20140806|title=Saddam's allies moved his corpse, fearful Shi'ite militias would...|first=Ahmed|last=Rasheed|work=Reuters|date=6 August 2014|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011070926/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-saddam-idUSKBN0G61GM20140806|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
United States' forces are braced for a backlash of violence in Iraq due to the execution. President [[George W. Bush]] has stated that Saddam Hussein's death will not end the violence in Iraq.<ref name="president">{{cite web | url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061229-15.html | title = President Bush's Statement on Execution of Saddam Hussein | accessdate = 2006-12-30 | author = George W. Bush | authorlink = George W. Bush | title = President Bush's Statement on Execution of Saddam Hussein | accessdate = 2006-12-30 | author = George W. Bush | authorlink = George W. Bush |date= 2006-12-29 | publisher = [[White House#The Whitehouse.gov website|Whitehouse.gov]] | quote = 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 [...]}}</ref> In Tikrit, Iraq, where Saddam was buried, police have barred entrances to and departures from the city for four days as a safety precaution.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061230/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam | title = Saddam Hussein executed for war crimes | work = [[Associated Press]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>


===Iraqi reaction===
==Media coverage==
The primary news source for the execution was the state-run Iraqi television news station [[Al Iraqiya]], whose announcer said that the "criminal Saddam was hanged to death". A scrolling headline read, "Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history". [[Al Arabiya]] reported that Saddam's lawyer had confirmed Saddam's death.<ref name="fox">{{cite news |date=2006-12-29 |title=Saddam Hussein Executed by Hanging in Iraq |work=[[Fox News]] |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240057,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2006-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101040847/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240057,00.html |archive-date=1 January 2007}}</ref>
====Politicians====
In a statement, [[Prime Minister of Iraq|Prime Minister]] [[Nouri al-Maliki]] 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."<ref name="bbc reactions">{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6219861.stm | title = Saddam death 'ends dark chapter' | work = [[BBC]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> 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."<ref name="Iraq response">{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6218597.stm | title = Saddam hanged: Reaction in quotes | work = [[BBC]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> He also said that Saddam Hussein does not represent any group or sect of the Iraqi people.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2006/12/30/30347.htm |language=Arabic |title=مقتل وجرح 75 عراقيا في الكوفة (The killing and wounding of 75 Iraqis in Kufa) |date=December 30, 2006 |publisher=Al Arabiya}}</ref>


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]].
"[Iraqis] have been waiting for justice to be executed, and I think that Iraqis have received the news that they've been waiting for too many years," said Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani.<ref name="Iraq response"/>


===Mobile phone video===
"The execution of Saddam Hussein is a big crime. Saddam Hussein was a prisoner of war and was arrested by the US forces, and not by the Iraqi government. It is a crime with which they wanted to cover up many things," a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] politician, Khalaf Al-Ulayyan said.<ref name="Iraq response"/>
While officially released footage of the event stopped short of showing the actual execution, an amateur video shot using a mobile phone from a staircase leading up to the gallows surfaced; it contained low-quality footage of the entire hanging.<ref name="cellphone">
{{cite video |url=https://dn720309.ca.archive.org/0/items/saddam-hussein-full-hanging-video-graphic/Saddam%20Hussein%20~%20FULL%20~%20Hanging%20Video%20%20%20Graphic.mp4 |title=Saddam Hussein ~ FULL ~ Hanging Video Graphic |date=2006-12-30 |type=Video |publisher=Internet Archive |year=2006 |people=Unidentified videographer}}
</ref> The amateur footage, unlike the official footage, included sound; witnesses could be heard taunting Saddam at the gallows,<ref name="cellphone2">{{cite news | url = http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070102/saddam-web-tv.htm | title = Saddam Execution Images Shown on TV, Web | author = Bauder, David | work = International Business Times |date= 2007-01-02 | access-date = 2006-01-02 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070104165726/http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070102/saddam-web-tv.htm |archive-date = 4 January 2007}}</ref> to which the former president replied "goddamn you."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Video shows Saddam being taunted |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/12/31/video-shows-saddam-being-taunted-2 |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>


On 3 January 2007, the Iraqi government arrested the guard who they believed made the mobile phone video. However, it was too late to prevent it from spreading across the Internet.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010300358.html| title = Official Held in Saddam Hanging Video| author = Abdul-Zahra, Qassim| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]| date = 2007-01-03| access-date = 2007-01-03| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081011031239/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010300358.html| archive-date = 11 October 2008| url-status = live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13259309| title = Arrests made in Saddam video case| author = Richard Engel and the Associated Press| work = [[NBC News]]| date = 2007-01-03| access-date = 2007-01-03}}</ref>
"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. 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," said [[Adnan Pachachi]].<ref name="Iraq response"/>


==Reaction==
The first chief judge who presided over Saddam Hussein's trial, [[Rizkar Mohammed Amin]], 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.<ref name="judge reaction">{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070101/wl_mideast_afp/iraqjusticesaddam_070101144532 |title=Former Saddam judge says execution violates Iraqi law |publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]] |date=January 1, 2007}}</ref>
{{main|Reactions to the execution of Saddam Hussein}}
Reactions to the execution were varied. Criticism came both from Saddam's supporters, who believed it was unjust, and non-supporters, who either wanted additional judgement regarding other crimes besides those he was convicted for (including allegedly worse crimes) and those who approved of his conviction but not of capital punishment. Some supporters considered him a [[martyr]].<ref name="alarabiya-raghad">{{cite news |date=2007-01-01 |title=طفل باكستاني يشنق نفسه أثناء اللعب مقلدا إعدام صدام حسين |language=ar |trans-title=Raghad Saddam Hussein attends a protest in Jordan to protest the execution of her father |publisher=Al-Arabiya |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2007/01/01/30399.htm |access-date=2 January 2007 |archive-date=7 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107145106/https://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2007/01/01/30399.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Copycat hangings===
There were reports of [[copycat suicide|copycat]] deaths influenced by the media coverage. Sergio Pelico, a 10-year-old boy in [[Webster, Texas|Webster]], [[Texas]], United States, hanged 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]], [[Pakistan]], 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]], India was reported to have hanged herself after becoming extremely depressed by watching the execution. Copycat hangings were blamed for the deaths of seven people worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/update_detail.asp?id=15802 |title=Children die worldwide after seeing Saddam hang |work=The News International |accessdate=24 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023711/http://www.thenews.com.pk/update_detail.asp?id=15802 |archivedate=30 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>"[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16624940 Copycat hangings follow Saddam execution]." ''[[NBC News]]''. 14 January 2007.</ref>


==Legality==
The execution will also deny opportunity for trials for other cases, including the [[chemical weapon]]s attacks on [[Halabja]] in 1988.<ref name="bbc-arabreactions">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6219471.stm |title=Arab reaction to Saddam execution |publisher=BBC |date=December 30, 2006}}</ref> The Center of Halabja against Anfalization and Genocide of the Kurds (C.H.A.K.) disapproved of the execution, without having Saddam tried for other cases including the massacre of 8,000 [[Barzani Kurds]] in 1983, chemical attacks on [[Sardasht]], the 1988 massacres on [[Al-Anfal Campaign|Anfal]], and other crimes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=13821 |title=The execution of Saddam Hussein without judgment on the Anfal Genocide |publisher=KurdishMedia |date=December 30, 2006}}</ref> At the time of his execution, Saddam was on trial, facing charges of [[genocide]] at Anfal, which resulted in an estimated 180,000 deaths.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-victims31dec31,0,3803754.story?coll=la-home-headlines |title=Victims have mixed feelings about Saddam's death |publisher=Los Angeles Times |author=Zavis, Alexandra |date=December 30, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D312F0DF-0802-4F6C-8299-626DC7F73CD3.htm |title=US urged not to hand over Saddam |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=December 28, 2006}}</ref> "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 Kurdistan|Iraqi Kurdish]] politician, Mahmoud Osman.<ref name="Iraq response"/>
[[Human Rights Watch]] issued a statement that the "execution follows a flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the rule of law in Iraq".<ref name="hrw">{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950.htm|title=Iraq: Saddam Hussein Put to Death|access-date=30 December 2006|date=30 December 2006|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104080629/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950.htm|archive-date=4 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] 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".<ref name="ai">{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/pages/irq-281206-statement-eng|title=Amnesty International condemns Iraqi Appeal Court verdict against Saddam Hussein and co-accused|access-date=30 December 2006|date=30 December 2006|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103205025/http://web.amnesty.org/pages/irq-281206-statement-eng|archive-date=3 January 2007}}</ref> Two days before the execution, the [[International Federation for Human Rights|International Federation of Human Rights]] released a statement calling upon the head of state to issue a moratorium on the death sentence pronounced against Saddam by hanging. The organization also said Saddam should be treated as a [[prisoner of war]] under the [[Geneva Conventions]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iraq: No to death penalty ratification!
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070112172456/http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=3925
| archive-date= 12 January 2007
| date = 27 December 2006
|url=https://www.fidh.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=3925|access-date=2023-03-14|website=International Federation for Human Rights}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_2050104,00.html |title=Saddam a martyr – lawyers |work=News24.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222224749/http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_2050104,00.html |archive-date=22 December 2007 |url-status=dead |date=30 December 2006}}</ref> In a separate statement, Saddam's American defense lawyer called the execution "an unfortunate display of arrogant aggressor's justice 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."<ref>{{cite web
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070902023658/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/12/saddam-lawyers-decry-political.php
| archive-date= 2 September 2007
| work = Jurist
| publisher= University of Pittsburgh School of Law
| date = 30 December 2006
| title= Saddam lawyers decry 'political assassination' in statement
| first = Desiree N. | last= Williams
| url = http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/12/saddam-lawyers-decry-political.php
| url-status=unfit
}}</ref> [[Juan Cole]] 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.<ref>{{ cite web
| first = Juan | last = Cole
| author-link=Juan Cole
| url =http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/12/30/saddam/index.html
| title= Saddam: The death of a dictator
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418085751/http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/12/30/saddam/index.html |archive-date=18 April 2008
| work=Salon
| date =30 December 2006
| url-status=dead
}}</ref>


However, other legal experts disagreed with these assertions and claims. [[Miranda Sissons]], at the time an independent observer of the trial<ref>{{cite web | url=https://theprint.in/world/human-rights-activist-miranda-sissons-maybe-the-answer-to-facebooks-digital-hate-woes/355716/ | title=Human rights activist Miranda Sissons maybe the answer to Facebook's digital hate woes | website=[[ThePrint]] | date=29 January 2020 }}</ref> and a senior associate at the International Center for Transitional Justice, stated, "This was not a sham trial", and added the Iraqi judges presiding over the trial did "their best to try this case to an entirely new standard for Iraq".<ref name="NYT 2006-11-06">{{cite news |last1=Preston |first1=Julia |author-link=Julia Preston|date=6 November 2006 |title=Hussein Trial Was Flawed but Reasonably Fair, and Verdict Was Justified, Legal Experts Say |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/06/world/middleeast/06trial.html |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Jonathan Drimmer, winner of the first U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Award for Human Rights Law Enforcement<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bsr.org/en/about/staff-bio/jonathan-drimmer | title=Jonathan Drimmer &#124; Our People |publisher=Business for Social Responsibility }}</ref> and a teacher at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, when asked if the trial met the standards of international justice said, "The answer is no. But to look at the ultimate verdict, it certainly is consistent with the evidence presented", and further added the trial was both "a transparent proceeding" and "a major step for Iraq".<ref name="NYT 2006-11-06"/> [[Michael Scharf]], a professor at [[Case Western Reserve University School of Law]] at the time, who also advised the Iraqi tribunal during the trial, responding to accusations by Saddam's defense team stated, "The U.S. government was not the puppet master of this tribunal" and added, "Saddam was convicted on the strength of his own documents", referring to documents signed by Saddam himself approving execution orders.<ref name="NYT 2006-11-06"/>
====Populace====
Shias in Iraq celebrated the execution while some Sunni towns saw protests.<ref name="bbc reactions"/><ref name="msnbc coverage"/> In [[Sadr City]], [[Basra]], and [[Najaf]] citizens danced in the streets and honked their car horns with jubilance. In [[Tikrit]], [[Samarra]], and [[Ramadi]], however, there are reports of protests.<ref name="bbc reactions"/> David MacDougall, a Fox News reporter located in [[Baghdad]], 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.


==Perception of the Iraqi government==
People in Iraq expressed mixed sentiments, with some glad to see justice done. "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.<ref name="msnbc coverage"/> Ali Hamza, a professor in the [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'a]] town of [[Al Diwaniyah]] said, "Now all the victims’ families will be happy because Saddam got his just sentence."<ref name="msnbc coverage"/> Some were content to see Saddam gone, but expressed concerns about the instability in Iraq. A 34-year-old candy store owner in Baghdad, Haider Hamed, 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."<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061231/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam | title = Saddam exchanged taunts before hanging | work = [[Associated Press]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>
Following the leaking of mobile phone footage of Saddam Hussein's execution, along with the detention on 3 January 2007, of a guard under the Justice Ministry headed by Sunni Iraqi minister [[Hashim Abderrahman al-Shibli]], suspicions have arisen that the ministry may have intended to inflame sectarian tensions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/03/saddam.execution/index.html|title=More arrests expected from Hussein execution video|work=CNN|date=3 January 2007|access-date=3 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104235816/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/03/saddam.execution/index.html|archive-date=4 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview with {{lang|it|[[La Repubblica]]}} on 19 January 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr 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 Muqtada look like the real enemy of the Sunnis".<ref>{{cite news |date=19 January 2007 |title=Un esercito segreto contro di noi ma gli sciiti sapranno resistere |language=it |trans-title=A secret army against us but the Shiites will be able to resist |work=[[La Repubblica]] |url=http://www.repubblica.it/2007/01/sezioni/esteri/iraq-108/intervista-sadr/intervista-sadr.html |access-date=4 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606040026/http://www.repubblica.it/2007/01/sezioni/esteri/iraq-108/intervista-sadr/intervista-sadr.html |archive-date=6 June 2011}}{{pb}}Translated at {{cite news |title=Moqtada's interview at La Repubblica |url=http://justworldnews.org/archives/002346.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209045355/http://justworldnews.org/archives/002346.html |archive-date=9 February 2007 |translator=[[Helena Cobban]]}}</ref>


U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] mentioned on 4 January 2007 that he wished that the execution "had gone on in a more dignified way".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/saddam-s-execution-could-have-been-more-dignified-bush-1.661744|title=Saddam's execution could have been more 'dignified': Bush|work=CBC News|date=5 January 2007|access-date=6 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107021447/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/saddam-s-execution-could-have-been-more-dignified-bush-1.661744|archive-date=7 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Bush later stated, in a 16 January 2007 interview with U.S. television host [[Jim Lehrer]], that Saddam's execution "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing". Bush said he was "disappointed and felt like they fumbled the Saddam Hussein execution. It reinforced doubts in people's minds that the [[Al Maliki I Government|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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/jan-june07/bush_01-16.html|title=President Bush Defends Decision to Send Additional Troops to Iraq|work=The Online NewsHour|publisher=PBS|date=16 January 2007|access-date=28 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070119195715/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/jan-june07/bush_01-16.html|archive-date=19 January 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Others expressed outrage and viewed Saddam as a [[martyr]]. "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]] Yahya al-Attawi, a [[cleric]] at a [[mosque]].<ref name="msnbc coverage"/> Protests occurred in [[Samarra]], where Sunnis broke into the [[Al-Askari Mosque]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Sunnis-angry-over-Saddam-hanging/2007/01/02/1167500093669.html |title=Sunnis angry over Saddam hanging |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=January 2, 2007}}</ref> and a riot broke out at Padush prison in [[Mosul]].<ref name="pakistantimes"/>

Several hours after the execution was reported, a [[car bomb]] exploded in a market in the [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'ite]] town of [[Kufa]] in southern Iraq, resulting in at least 30 fatalities; another bomb in a busy market of Baghdad killed another 36.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/iraq.main/index.html | title = Car bomb kills at least 30 in Kufa | work = [[CNN]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> It is unknown whether this is related to Saddam's execution.

===World reaction===
{{Wikiquote|Transwiki:Execution of Saddam Hussein|Execution of Saddam Hussein}}
At the time of Saddam's capture in December 2003, U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] expressed his opinion that Saddam deserved "the ultimate justice," alluding to the death penalty.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bush calls for death sentence for Saddam |publisher=Financial Times |date=December 17, 2003 |author=Alden, Edward, Marianne Brun-Rovet, James Harding}}</ref> This put the United States at odds with European and other countries around the world, which have signed on to the [[European Convention on Human Rights]] (article 3) and other international treaties that prohibit the death penalty and [[extradition]] of suspects to countries where capital punishment may be carried out.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Juvenile Execution, Terrorist Extradition, and Supreme Court Discretion to Consider International Death Penalty Jurisprudence |author=Burleson, Elizabeth |year=2005 |journal=68 Alb. L. Rev. 909}}</ref>

====Opposition====
Following the execution of Saddam Hussein, leaders around the world issued statements. Leaders of India,<ref>{{cite news
|title =Disappointment, condemnation in India over Saddam hanging
|url =http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20061230/34158.htm
| publisher =India eNews
|date=2006-12-30
|accessdate =2006-12-30}}</ref>
Cambodia,<ref name="bangkokpostbreakingnews">{{cite news
| url = http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=115606
| title = Thailand, Asia hope for Iraq peace
| work = Bangkok Post, Breaking News
|date= Saturday, 30 December 2006}}</ref>
and
Sri Lanka,<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-12-30-saddam-reaction_x.htm
| title = World leaders welcome, condemn Saddam's execution
| work = [[Associated Press]]
|date= 12/30/2006 2:17 AM ET}}</ref> as well as
Brazil,<ref name="international comments">{{cite news
| url = http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/29/hussein.world.reaction/index.html
| title = Hussein execution: World reaction - CNN.com
| work = [[CNN]]
|date= 2006-12-29
| accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>
expressed opposition to the execution. In [[India]], public demonstrations were held opposing Saddam Hussein's death sentence with demonstrators of almost all political parties carrying out rallies and burning effigies of U.S. President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite news | title = CPI(M) cadres burn effigy of George Bush | url = http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/01/stories/2007010107780300.htm | publisher = The Hindu | date=2006-12-31 | accessdate = 2007-01-01}}</ref>

Leaders and governments of many European countries also expressed strong disapproval of using capital punishment in this and any case, including Austria,<ref name= AustrianReaction>{{en icon}} {{cite web
| url=http://www.bmaa.gv.at/view.php3?f_id=12299&LNG=en&version=
|title=Statement from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on the execution of Saddam
|accessdate= 2007-01-03}}</ref>
Denmark,<ref name="jp-ritzau">{{cite news | url = http://www.jp.dk/udland/artikel:aid=4160622 | title = Fogh: Vi fordømmer Hussein, men er imod dødsstraf | work = [[Jyllands-Posten]] |date= 2006-12-30 | language = Danish }}</ref><ref name="dr.dk">{{cite news | url = http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Udland/2006/12/30/102119.htm | title = Blandede internationale reaktioner på Saddams død | work = [[Danmarks Radio]] |date= 2006-12-30 | language = Danish }}</ref>
Finland,<ref name="yle-tuomioja">{{cite news | url = http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/vasen/id50222.html | title = Saddam hirtettiin aamulla | work = [[YLE|YLE 24]] |date= 2006-12-30 | language = Finnish }}</ref> [[Germany]],<ref name="GermanyMerkel">{{de icon}} {{cite news | url = http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_1264/Content/DE/Artikel/2006/12/2006-12-30-merkel-zu-hinrichtung-saddam.html | title = Pressestatement von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel zum Tode von Saddam Hussein | language = de | publisher = [[Bundesregierung]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>
Italy,<ref name="Iraq response"/>
the Netherlands,<ref name="DutchReaction">{{cite news | url = http://tros.nl/index.php?id=451 | title = Vice-PM Zalm in TROS Kamerbreed | language = nl | publisher = TROS |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>
Norway,<ref>{{cite news |title =The execution of Saddam Hussein|url =http://www.dep.no/ud/english/news/news/032171-430062/dok-bn.html| publisher =Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date =2006-12-30|accessdate =2006-12-31}}</ref>
Portugal,<ref>{{cite news |title ={{pt icon}} Governo português contra execução de Saddam (Portuguese Government against Saddam execution)|url =http://www.portugaldiario.iol.pt/noticia.php?id=756657&div_id=| publisher =Portugal Diario|date=2006-12-29|accessdate =2006-12-30}}</ref>
Spain,<ref name="cri-Spain">{{cite news | url = http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2049929,00.html | title = 'Don't hang Saddam Hussein' | work = SA |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>
Sweden,<ref name="cri-Sweden">{{cite news | url = http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=148&a=601276&previousRenderType=6 | title = 'Regeringen beklagar Saddams avrättning'| work = SA |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> and Switzerland<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.admin.ch/aktuell/00089/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=10023 | title = Execution of former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein| work = |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> and the United Kingdom.<ref name= UKReaction>{{de icon}} {{cite web
| url=http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1238201.php
|title=Violence, condemnation, jubilation as Saddam is hanged
|accessdate= 2007-01-02}}</ref> The [[European Commissioner]] for [[Development Aid]] [[Louis Michel]] stated that the execution of Saddam Hussein is against the fundamental principles of the [[European Union]] (EU). The EU is against the death penalty, whatever are the crimes committed. "It is not a big day for democracy," Michel stated to the [[RTBF]]. "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.<ref name="Michel's reaction">{{cite news
| url = http://www.kanaalz.be/nl/Belga/BelgaNieuws.asp?ArticleID=74253&SectionID=2
| title = Louis Michel vindt executie Saddam in strijd met basisprincipe EU
| work = [[Kanaal Z]]
|date= 2006-12-30
| language = Dutch }}</ref> The Rev. Federico Lombardi, of the [[Vatican]], expressed sadness<ref name="forbescomments">{{cite news | url = http://www.forbes.com/business/businesstech/feeds/ap/2006/12/30/ap3289424.html | title = Comments on Death Penalty for Saddam | work = Associated Press |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> and disapproval of the death penalty.<ref name="forbescomments"/>.
Chile,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.elmostrador.cl/modulos/noticias/constructor/noticia_new.asp?id_noticia=206416 | title = Gobierno chileno rechaza ejecución de Hussein y espera su anulación | work = [[List of Chilean newspapers|El Mostrador]] |date= 2006-12-29 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> Belgium,<ref name="VRT_execution_quotes">[http://www.flandersnews.be/cm/flandersnews.be/News/061230_reactions%2Bto%2BSaddam%2Bexecution Mixed feelings over Saddam's execution], VRT flandersnews.be, December 30, 2006</ref> Russia,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Iraq/207995 | title = EU official condemns Saddam hanging, Russia voices concern | publisher = Al Bawaba |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> and Serbia<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2006&mm=12&dd=30&nav_id=225535&nav_category=78 | title = Razlicite reakcije na smrt Huseina | publisher = B92 |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> expressed disapproval of capital punishment in this and any case, and also expressed concerns about implications of the execution on stability in Iraq.

[[Terry Davis]], Secretary General of the [[Council of Europe]], 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.”<ref>Council of Europe press release, [https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1078399&BackColorInternet=F5CA75&BackColorIntranet=F5CA75&BackColorLogged=A9BACE 817(2006)]</ref>

Perhaps one of the most vocal European leaders has been [[Romano Prodi]], the [[Prime Minister of Italy]], who announced that his [[Politics of Italy|Government]] would be campaigning at the UN for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty.<ref name="Prodi's reaction">{{cite news
| url = http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=125451&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
| title = Italy will seek ban on death penalty
| work = [[Gulf Times]]
|date= 2007-1-3
| language = English}}</ref> 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 [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]] to adopt a moratorium.

In [[Turkey]], the [[Republican People's Party (Turkey)|Republican People's Party]] leader [[Deniz Baykal]] 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."<ref>{{cite news |title =CHP leader Baykal expresses sorrow over execution of Saddam|url =http://haber.tnn.net/haber_detay.asp?ID=1630601&Cat=ENG| publisher =TNN Haber|date =2006-12-30|accessdate =2006-12-31}}</ref>

The [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian Authority]] expressed opposition to the execution, and sadness over the demise of their steadfast ally.<ref name="Haaretz_execution_quotes">{{cite news | url = http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/807388.html | title = Saddam mourned | work = [[Haaretz]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> [[Hamas]] called the execution of Saddam a "political assassination."<ref>{{cite news |title=Reactions to Saddam Hussein’s execution |url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=18985 |publisher=Middle East Online |date=2006-12-30 |accessdate=2006-12-31}}</ref> [[Saudi Arabia]] expressed "surprise and dismay" and regretted the "politicisation" of the trial.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran welcomes Saddam execution |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EFDB757E-8044-46E0-8896-FF19DFF78F5F.htm |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=December 30, 2006}}</ref>

A [[Reuters]]' 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."<ref name="reuters-tal">{{cite news | url = http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL149654.htm?=amp&_lite_=1 | title = Taliban says Saddam's execution to intensify jihad | work = Reuters |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> Fauzan Al Anshori, from the Islamic group of Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia, 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."<ref name="thehindu">{{cite news | url = http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200612301772.htm | title = World leaders welcome, condemn Saddam's execution | work = [[The Hindu]] News Update Service |date= Saturday, December 30, 2006 : 1710 Hrs}}</ref>

====Respect and concerns====
Many other governments, including Canada,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2006/12/29/012-reax-saddam-pays.shtml | title = Exécution de Saddam Hussein: réactions aux antipodes | work = [[Radio-Canada]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref>
Indonesia,<ref name="thehindu"/>
Pakistan,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1310&Itemid=2 | title = Saddam’s execution “sad incident” : PM | work = Associated Press of Pakistan |date= Saturday, 30 December 2006}}</ref>
Thailand,<ref name="bangkokpostbreakingnews"/> and
Greece,<ref name= GreekReaction>{{el icon}} {{cite web| url=http://world.flash.gr//cosmosl/2006/12/29/30524id/ |title=Εκτελέστηκε ("Executed") |work= Flash.gr news site |accessdate= 2006-12-30}}</ref>
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]], the [[People's Republic of China]],<ref name="HINDU_execution">[http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200612301665.htm Iraqi affairs should be decided by Iraqis: China], The Hindu, December 30, 2006</ref> [[Japan]],<ref name="international comments"/> the [[Czech Republic]], [[France]],<ref name="international comments"/> [[Germany]],<ref name="GermanyMerkel">{{de icon}} {{cite news | url = http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_1264/Content/DE/Artikel/2006/12/2006-12-30-merkel-zu-hinrichtung-saddam.html | title = Pressestatement von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel zum Tode von Saddam Hussein | language = de | publisher = [[Bundesregierung]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> [[Iceland]],<ref name="Iceland reaction"> {{cite web|url=http://mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/frett.html?nid=1244451|title='''(Icelandic)''' Stjórnvöld virða niðurstöðu íraskra dómstóla|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref> [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]],<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=CWSNKFCWQLOJ | title = Ahern: We must respect Iraqi right to hang Saddam | work = breakingnews.ie |date= 30 December 2006 14:03}}</ref> the [[United Kingdom]],<ref>{{cite news | url = http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=UKNews1&storyID=2006-12-30T041326Z_01_L30161566_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-SADDAM-BRITAIN.xml&WTmodLoc=HP-C1-TopStories-4 | title = Beckett says Saddam held to account for crimes | work = [[Reuters]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> [[Australia]],<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20714573-2,00.html | title = Verdict a 'victory for freedom' | publisher = [[The Daily Telegraph]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref> and [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0612/S00479.htm | title = Hussein’s death ends a troubled chapter | work=Scoop |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>

====Support====
The [[List of Presidents of Peru|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 disagreed "with the fact that 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."<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.elcomercioperu.com.pe/EdicionOnline/Html/2006-12-30/onEcPolitica0642074.html| title = Alan García de acuerdo con la ejecución de Sadam Hussein| work = [[El Comercio]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> [[Israel]]<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1230/husseins1.html | title = Dark chapter in history closed says Iraqi PM | work = RTE |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30}}</ref> and [[Poland]] both expressed approval of the execution.<ref name="smh">{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/after-the-gallows-a-sombre-consensus-that-justice-was-served/2007/01/01/1167500060560.html |title=After the gallows, a sombre consensus that justice was served |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=January 2, 2007}}</ref> A spokesman for Poland's president said, "justice has been meted out to a criminal who murdered thousands of people in Iraq."<ref name="smh"/>

[[Iran]]'s Deputy Foreign Minister [[Hamid Reza Asefi]] stated, "With regard to Saddam's execution, it amounts to a victory of the Iraqi people as they were the winners by his fall [...] Saddam's regime was overthrown because the Iraqi people did not support him. It is crystal clear that the United States should not misinterpret his fall and take the credit for itself. [...] An investigation into the [[Iran-Iraq War|Iraqi invasion of Iran]] (1980-1988) and of Kuwait (1990) could have disclosed the US involvement in Saddam's crimes and therefore the Americans preferred to close the case earlier."<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-12/30/content_5550896.htm | title = Iran: Saddam's execution amounts to "victory of the Iraqis" | work = [[Xinhua News Agency|Xinhua]] |date= 2006-12-30}}</ref>

In the [[United States]], [[President of the United States|President]] [[George W. Bush]] 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."<ref name="president"/> Celebration in the United States occurred in at least one location in [[Dearborn, Michigan|Dearborn]], [[Michigan]], at the corner of Warren and Greenfield, a heavily [[Shia Islam|Shia]] Iraqi-American community.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16400751/ | title = Iraqi Americans celebrate Saddam’s execution | work = [[Associated Press]] |date= 2006-12-30 | accessdate = 2006-12-30 }}</ref>

===Non-governmental organizations===
* [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]: "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."<ref name="Iraq response"/> &ndash; High Commissioner Louise Arbour.

* [[Human Rights Watch]]: "Saddam Hussein was responsible for massive [[human rights]] violations, but that can't justify giving him the death penalty, which is a cruel and inhuman punishment."<ref name="hrw">{{cite web| url = http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950.htm| title = Iraq: Saddam Hussein Put to Death| accessdate = 2006-12-30|date= 2006-12-30| publisher = [[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref> "History will judge the deeply flawed Dujail trial and this execution harshly."<ref name="Iraq response"/> &ndash; Director Richard Dicker.

* [[Amnesty International USA]]: "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."<ref name="international comments"/><ref name="amnestyusa">{{cite web| url = http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGUSA20061229001| title = Iraq: Statement of Larry Cox, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA on the impending execution of Saddam Hussein| accessdate = 2006-12-30|date= 2006-12-29| publisher = [[Amnesty International USA]]}}</ref> &ndash; Executive Director Larry Cox.

* [[International Federation of Human Rights]]: "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"<ref name="fidh">{{cite web| url = http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=3784 | title = Saddam Hussein's Trial: Statement of Sidiki Kaba, president of the FIDH | accessdate = 2006-12-30|date= 2006-11-05| publisher = [[FIDH]]}}</ref> &ndash; President Sidiki Kaba.

==Criticism==
[[Human Rights Watch]] issued a statement that the "execution follows a flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the rule of law in Iraq."<ref name="hrw"> </ref> [[Amnesty International]] 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."<ref name="ai">{{cite web| url = http://web.amnesty.org/pages/irq-281206-statement-eng| title = Amnesty International condemns Iraqi Appeal Court verdict against Saddam Hussein and co-accused| accessdate = 2006-12-30|date= 2006-12-30| publisher = [[Amnesty International]]}}</ref> Two days before the execution, the [[International Federation of Human Rights]] released a statement calling "upon Iraq's Head of State to ensure a moratorium on the death sentence pronounced against Saddam Hussein." The organization also said Saddam should be treated as a [[prisoner of war]] under the [[Geneva Conventions]].<ref>[http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=3925 "Iraq: No to death penalty ratification!"], ''[[International Federation of Human Rights]]'', [[December 27]], [[2006]]</ref> [[Juan Cole]] 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."<ref>Juan Cole, "[http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/12/30/saddam/index.html Saddam: The death of a dictator]," ''Salon.com'' (30 December 2006).</ref>

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."<ref>[http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_2050104,00.html Saddam a martyr - lawyers] December 30, 2006</ref> 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."<ref>[http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/12/saddam-lawyers-decry-political.php "Saddam lawyers decry 'political assassination' in statement"] [[December 30]], [[2006]]</ref>

Since the release of amateur video footage of the execution, several commentators have criticized the atmosphere of the hanging. [[John Simpson]] of [[BBC News]] 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."<ref>{{cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6221751.stm |title=Saddam hanging taunts evoke ugly past|author=John Simpson|authorlink=|work=British Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=2007-01-01|date=2006-12-31}}</ref> Toby Dodge, an expert on Iraq, of Queen Mary College, [[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]] forced through Saddam's execution just four days after the appeals court upheld his conviction.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR151828.htm |title=Feature-Iraqis ponder lessons of history after Saddam hangs|author=Claudia Parsons|authorlink=|work=Reuters|accessdate=2007-01-01|date=2006-12-31}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'', a London newspaper, 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.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2526093,00.html |title=How one mobile phone made Saddam's hanging a very public execution|author=Ned Parker and Ali Hamdani|authorlink=|work=The Times of London Online Edition|accessdate=2007-01-01|date=2007-01-01}}</ref> The ''[[New York Times]]'' 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 Shiites who were his principal victims, seem like bullying street thugs."<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html |title=U.S. Questioned Iraq on the Rush to Hang Hussein|author=John F. Burns and Marc Santora|authorlink=|work=New York Times|accessdate=2007-01-01|date=2007-01-01}}</ref> The Pakistani-born writer Tariq Ali denounced the proceedings, contrasting favourably the trials of Nazi criminals after World War II with the trial of Hussein, "Where Nuremberg was a more dignified application of victor's justice, Saddam's trial has, till now, been the crudest and most grotesque." <ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.sevenoaksmag.com/features/executionofsaddam.html |title=Saddam at the end of a rope|author=Tariq Ali|work=Seven Oaks Magazine|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Iraq|Law}}
* [[Saddam Hussein]]
* [[Trials of Saddam Hussein]]
* [[Killing of Muammar Gaddafi]]
* [[Killing of Qusay and Uday Hussein]]
* [[Capital punishment in Iraq]]
{{Clear}}
* [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]
* [[Iraq War]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
<div class="references-2column"><references/></div>


==External links==
==External links==
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* {{YouTube|id=fII8DgMfdUc|title=Video of execution}}

{{Saddam Hussein}}
{{Iraq War}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussein, Saddam}}
*[http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/iraq/inresaddam122906app.html Application for Stay of Execution] — (FindLaw) Filed in U.S. Federal Court on December 29, 2006.
[[Category:Trial of Saddam Hussein|*]]
*Video of Execution:
[[Category:Deaths by person in Iraq]]
**[http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoChannel.aspx?storyid=a12e30546019929f3625ae1d8bb4eb8ae3c00394 Before Execution] — (Reuters) video footage moments before the execution.
[[Category:Filmed executions in Iraq]]
**[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7532034279766935521 Execution] — Cell phone video of hanging, including final moments. ([http://www.contemporaryinsanity.org/download/index.php?Saddam-hung.wmv Non-streaming link])
[[Category:21st-century executions by Iraq]]
**[http://edition.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/world/2006/12/30/vo.iraq.hussein.dead.body.reut After Execution] — (CNN) video footage moments after the execution.
[[Category:Al-Kadhimayn]]
*[http://www.liveleak.com/saddam2.html Interviews with Iraqi People] — (Al Jazeera) video footage of Iraqi people reaction after Saddam's execution.
[[Category:December 2006 events in Iraq]]
*[http://www.indierockcafe.com/2006/12/cell-phone-video-hanging-of-saddam.html The Execution Video] - (IRC) The authentic, original video of the Saddam Hussein execution.
[[Category:Saddam Hussein]]
[[Category:2006 in Baghdad]]
[[Category:2006 in Iraq]]
[[Category:Baghdad in the Iraq War]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Political history of Baghdad]]
[[Category:Iraq War legal issues]]
[[Category:2006 in law]]


[[es:Sadam Husein#Ejecución]]
[[ar:إعدام صدام حسين]]
[[es:Ejecución de Saddam Hussein]]
[[fa:اعدام صدام حسین]]
[[dv:Execution of Saddamn Hussein]]
[[hu:Szaddám Huszein kivégzése]]
[[pl:Egzekucja Saddama Husajna]]

Latest revision as of 05:36, 31 December 2024

Execution of Saddam Hussein
Part of the Iraq War
Saddam Hussein at his trial in July 2004
Date30 December 2006; 18 years ago (2006-12-30)
VenueCamp Justice, Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Iraq
This article is part of
a series about
Saddam Hussein
Personal
Affiliations
Political offices
Rise to power
Presidency
Desposition
Elections and referendums
Novels
Saddam Hussein's signature

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was executed on 30 December 2006.[1] Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the Dujail massacre—the killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail—in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him.[2]

The Iraqi government released an official video of his execution, showing him being led to the gallows, and ending after the hangman's noose was placed over his head. International public controversy arose when a mobile phone recording of the hanging showed him surrounded by a contingent of his countrymen who jeered him in Arabic and praised the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and his subsequent fall through the trap door of the gallows.

Saddam's body was returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja, near Tikrit, on 31 December and was buried near the graves of other family members.

Background

[edit]
See also: Capture of Saddam Hussein, Interrogation of Saddam Hussein, and Trial of Saddam Hussein

After being sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, Saddam requested to be executed by firing squad rather than hanging, claiming it as the lawful military capital punishment and citing his former position of commander-in-chief of the Iraqi military. This request was denied by the court.[3][4] Two days prior to the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party website. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to unite, and not to hate the people of countries that invaded Iraq, like the United States, but instead the decision-makers. He said he was ready to die as a martyr and that he was at peace with his death sentence.[5] Hours before the execution, Saddam ate his last meal of chicken and rice with a cup of hot water with honey.

Execution

[edit]

Time and place

[edit]

Saddam was executed by hanging at approximately 05:50 UTC +03:00 on the first day of Eid al-Adha (30 December 2006).[6][7] Reports conflicted 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.[6][7][8]

The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-U.S. military base Camp Justice, located in Kazimain, a north-eastern suburb of Baghdad. Contrary to initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, not at the same time as his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who were executed on 15 January 2007. Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid was also sentenced to death and was hanged on 25 January 2010.

Proceedings

[edit]

A senior Iraqi official who was involved in the events leading to Saddam's demise 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."[9] U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told journalists in Baghdad that after "physical control" of Saddam was given to the Iraqi government, "the multinational force had absolutely no direct involvement with [the execution] whatsoever."[10] There were no U.S. representatives present in the execution chamber.[11][12]

Reports circulated that Saddam's behavior was "submissive" and that he was carrying the Qur'an he had been keeping with him throughout his trial before his execution. Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who was a witness to Saddam's execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with the invaders".[13] 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 and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route should not be afraid.[14]

Witnesses described Saddam as appearing "broken and weak" yet "unrepentant" prior to his hanging.[15] Sami al-Askari, a witness to the execution, said, "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted, 'Allahu Akbar. The Muslim Ummah will be victorious and Palestine is Arab!'"[16] Saddam also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the American invaders.[17] After the rope was secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" in reference to Muqtada al-Sadr; Saddam laughed, repeating the name mockingly and rebuked the shouts stating, "Do you consider this bravery?"[14][18][19][20][21] A Shi'a version of an Islamic prayer was recited by some of those present in the room while Saddam recited a Sunni version of an Islamic prayer.[22] One observer told Saddam:

Go to hell!

Saddam replied,

The hell that is Iraq?[23]

In response to the heckling of one of the masked guards (the man said "You have destroyed us, you have killed us. You have made us live in destitution!"), Saddam replied: "I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persians and Americans."[24]

The deputy prosecutor, Munqith al-Faroun, responded to hecklers, stating,[25]

Please, stop. The man is facing an execution.

Saddam began to recite the Shahada twice. Before finishing his second recitation, the trapdoor sprang. His last word was, "Muhammad."[21] According to The New York Times, 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."[26] During the drop, there was an audible crack, indicating that Saddam's neck was broken.[27] After Saddam was suspended for a few minutes, the doctor present listened with a stethoscope for a heartbeat. After he detected nothing, the rope was cut, and the body was placed in a coffin. Saddam was confirmed dead at 06:03.[28]

Alleged postmortem stabbings

[edit]

According to Talal Misrab, the head guard at Saddam's tomb, 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 stated, "I oversaw the whole process from A–Z and Saddam Hussein's body was not stabbed or mutilated, and he was not humiliated before execution."[29]

Burial

[edit]

Saddam's body was buried in his birthplace of Al-Awja in Tikrit, Iraq, near family members, including his two sons Uday and Qusay Hussein, on 31 December 2006 at 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT).[30][31][32] His body was transported to Tikrit by a U.S. military helicopter, where he was handed over from Iraqi government possession to Sheikh Ali al-Nida, the late head of the Albu Nasir tribe and governor of Saladin. It was buried about three kilometers (2 mi) from his two sons' bodies, in the same extensive cemetery. Saddam's grave, in a family plot, was dug into the floor of an octagonal, domed building he had ordered the construction of in the 1980s for religious festivals at the site.

Saddam's eldest daughter Raghad, 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.[33] The family also said his body might be buried in Ramadi, citing safety concerns, though there are no plans to do this.[30] The tomb where Saddam's body was buried was later destroyed during fighting between Islamic State militants and Iraqi forces.[34] Saddam's body had reportedly been removed by a Sunni tribal group before the tomb's destruction.[35]

Media coverage

[edit]

The primary news source for the execution was the state-run Iraqi television news station Al Iraqiya, whose announcer said that the "criminal Saddam was hanged to death". A scrolling headline read, "Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history". Al Arabiya reported that Saddam's lawyer had confirmed Saddam's death.[36]

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

[edit]

While officially released footage of the event stopped short of showing the actual execution, an amateur video shot using a mobile phone from a staircase leading up to the gallows surfaced; it contained low-quality footage of the entire hanging.[37] The amateur footage, unlike the official footage, included sound; witnesses could be heard taunting Saddam at the gallows,[38] to which the former president replied "goddamn you."[39]

On 3 January 2007, the Iraqi government arrested the guard who they believed made the mobile phone video. However, it was too late to prevent it from spreading across the Internet.[40] 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.[41]

Reaction

[edit]
Main article: Reactions to the execution of Saddam Hussein

Reactions to the execution were varied. Criticism came both from Saddam's supporters, who believed it was unjust, and non-supporters, who either wanted additional judgement regarding other crimes besides those he was convicted for (including allegedly worse crimes) and those who approved of his conviction but not of capital punishment. Some supporters considered him a martyr.[42]

Copycat hangings

[edit]

There were reports of copycat deaths influenced by the media coverage. Sergio Pelico, a 10-year-old boy in Webster, Texas, United States, hanged 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, Pakistan, 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, India was reported to have hanged herself after becoming extremely depressed by watching the execution. Copycat hangings were blamed for the deaths of seven people worldwide.[43][44]

Legality

[edit]

Human Rights Watch issued a statement that the "execution follows a flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the rule of law in Iraq".[45] Amnesty International 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".[46] Two days before the execution, the International Federation of Human Rights released a statement calling upon the head of state to issue a moratorium on the death sentence pronounced against Saddam by hanging. The organization also said Saddam should be treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions.[47] 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".[48] In a separate statement, Saddam's American defense lawyer called the execution "an unfortunate display of arrogant aggressor's justice 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."[49] Juan Cole 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.[50]

However, other legal experts disagreed with these assertions and claims. Miranda Sissons, at the time an independent observer of the trial[51] and a senior associate at the International Center for Transitional Justice, stated, "This was not a sham trial", and added the Iraqi judges presiding over the trial did "their best to try this case to an entirely new standard for Iraq".[52] Jonathan Drimmer, winner of the first U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Award for Human Rights Law Enforcement[53] and a teacher at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, when asked if the trial met the standards of international justice said, "The answer is no. But to look at the ultimate verdict, it certainly is consistent with the evidence presented", and further added the trial was both "a transparent proceeding" and "a major step for Iraq".[52] Michael Scharf, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law at the time, who also advised the Iraqi tribunal during the trial, responding to accusations by Saddam's defense team stated, "The U.S. government was not the puppet master of this tribunal" and added, "Saddam was convicted on the strength of his own documents", referring to documents signed by Saddam himself approving execution orders.[52]

Perception of the Iraqi government

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Following the leaking of mobile phone footage of Saddam Hussein's execution, along with the detention on 3 January 2007, of a guard under the Justice Ministry headed by Sunni Iraqi minister Hashim Abderrahman al-Shibli, suspicions have arisen that the ministry may have intended to inflame sectarian tensions.[54] In an interview with La Repubblica on 19 January 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr 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 Muqtada look like the real enemy of the Sunnis".[55]

U.S. President George W. Bush mentioned on 4 January 2007 that he wished that the execution "had gone on in a more dignified way".[56] Bush later stated, in a 16 January 2007 interview with U.S. television host Jim Lehrer, that Saddam's execution "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing". Bush said he was "disappointed and felt like they fumbled 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."[57]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Saddam buried in village of his birth". Associated Press. 31 December 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2006.
  2. ^ Semple, Kirk (5 November 2006). "Saddam Hussein Is Sentenced to Death". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024.
  3. ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald 404 Page". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Saddam prefers death by shooting". The Washington Times. 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
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  10. ^ "U.S. Distances Itself From Saddam Hanging". CBS News. 3 January 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
  11. ^ "Hussein executed with 'fear in his face'". CNN. 30 December 2006. Archived from the original on 29 December 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
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  13. ^ "A Historic Day For Iraq". Sky News. 30 December 2006. Archived from the original on 22 January 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
  14. ^ a b Santora, Marc (31 December 2006). "On the Gallows, Curses for U.S. and 'Traitors'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
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  26. ^ Tavernise, Sabrina (1 January 2007). "For Sunnis, Dictator's Degrading End Signals Ominous Dawn for the New Iraq". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
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  28. ^ شريط يظهر نطقه للشهادتين ومصوّر الإعدام يروي لحظة النهاية تفاصيل الساعة الأخيرة في حياة الرئيس السابق صدام حسي [Tape shows last details of Saddam's life] (in Arabic). Al-Arabiya. 31 December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
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  37. ^ Unidentified videographer (30 December 2006). Saddam Hussein ~ FULL ~ Hanging Video Graphic (Video). Internet Archive.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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  51. ^ "Human rights activist Miranda Sissons maybe the answer to Facebook's digital hate woes". ThePrint. 29 January 2020.
  52. ^ a b c Preston, Julia (6 November 2006). "Hussein Trial Was Flawed but Reasonably Fair, and Verdict Was Justified, Legal Experts Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
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  55. ^ "Un esercito segreto contro di noi ma gli sciiti sapranno resistere" [A secret army against us but the Shiites will be able to resist]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 19 January 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
    Translated at "Moqtada's interview at La Repubblica". Translated by Helena Cobban. Archived from the original on 9 February 2007.
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