Hussein Sentenced to Hang

An Iraqi court yesterday convicted former President Saddam Hussein of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to hang.  He was found guilty on charges related to the 1982 deaths of 148 Iraqis after Hussein survived an assassination attempt in their town.

Iraqi officials said Hussein could hang as early as next spring, following an automatic appeal of the verdict that is due to begin within 30 days, the New York Times reported.  Hussein’s trial for allegedly ordering the use of chemical weapons against a Kurdish region of the nation would proceed, officials said, but his execution could be completed before that trial is completed (see GSN, Aug. 24).

“The court has decided to sentence Saddam Hussein al-Majid to death by hanging,” Chief Judge Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman announced.  The five-judge panel found him guilty of willful killing, unlawful imprisonment, forced deportation, torture and “other inhumane acts,” the Times reported. 

Two other defendants, including Hussein’s half-brother, were also sentenced to die.  A fourth man was sentenced to life imprisonment.

“You don’t decide anything,” Hussein shouted to the panel after hearing the sentence.  “You are the servants of the occupiers and their lackeys!  You are puppets!” (Burns/Semple, New York Times, Nov. 6).

The sentence marked a critical point in Iraqi history, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said yesterday.

“The verdict placed on the heads of the former regime does not represent a verdict for any one person,” he said.  “It is a verdict on the whole dark era that was unmatched in Iraq’s history” (Hurst/Hendawi, Associated Press/Houston Chronicle, Nov. 6).

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