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(BIN) Leaked Execution Video of Saddam Hussein
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Introduction
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The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein took place on
Saturday, 30 December 2006. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging,
after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special
Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in
1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him.
The Iraqi government released an official videotape 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. The atmosphere of the execution drew
criticism around the world from nations that oppose as well as support
capital punishment. On Sunday 31 December 2006, Saddam Hussein's body
was returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja, near Tikrit, and was buried
near the graves of other family members.
Prior to execution
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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 military position of
commander of the Iraqi military. This request was denied by the court.
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 he said
that this is his death sentence. In the hours before the execution,
Saddam ate his last meal of chicken and rice with a cup of hot water
and honey.
Time and place
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Saddam was executed by hanging at approximately 06:00 UTC +03:00 on
the first day of Eid al-Adha. 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.
The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-American 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. Barzan was
decapitated by the rope due to incorrect calculations of his body
weight and length of drop. Saddam's cousin and one of his six
co-defendants Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death and was
hanged on 25 January 2010.
Proceedings
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A senior Iraqi official who was involved in the events leading to
Saddam's death was quoted as saying, "The Americans wanted to delay
the execution by 15 days because they weren't keen on having him
executed right away. But during the day [before the execution] the
prime minister's office provided all the documents they asked for and
the Americans changed their minds when they saw the prime minister was
very insistent. Then it was just a case of finalizing the details."
U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell 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." There were no U.S.
representatives present in the execution chamber.
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. Al-Rubaie, who was a witness to Saddam's
execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with the
invaders". Al-Rubaie reportedly asked Saddam if he had any remorse or
fear, to which Saddam replied:
"No, I am a militant and I have no fear for myself. I have spent my
life in jihad and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route
should not be afraid."
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!'" Saddam also stressed that
the Iraqis should fight the American invaders. After the rope was
secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada!
Muqtada!" as reference to Muqtada al-Sadr; Saddam repeated the name
mockingly and rebuked the shouts stating, "Do you consider this
bravery?"
A Shi'a version of an Islamic prayer was recited by some of those
present in the room. One observer told Saddam:
"Go to hell!" Saddam replied, "The hell that is Iraq?"
The deputy prosecutor, Munqith al-Faroun, responded to hecklers,
stating, "Please, stop. The man is facing an execution."
Saddam began to recite the Shahada twice. As he neared the end of his
second recitation when he was about to say "Muhammad", the trapdoor
sprang.
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." During the drop there was an audible crack
indicating that his neck was broken. After Saddam was suspended for a
few minutes, the doctor present listened with a stethoscope for a
heartbeat. After he detected none, the rope was cut, and the body was
placed in a coffin. He was confirmed dead at 06:03.
Alleged postmortem stabbings
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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, Iraq's security advisor, 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."
Burial
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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). His body was
transported to Tikrit by a U.S. military helicopter, where it 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 Hussein'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, under asylum in Jordan, had
asked that "his body be buried in Yemen temporarily until Iraq is
liberated and it can be reburied in Iraq", a family spokesperson said
by telephone. The family also said his body might be buried in Ramadi,
citing safety concerns, though there are no plans to do this. The tomb
where Saddam's body was buried was later destroyed during fighting
between Islamic State (ISIL, ISIS, IS) militants and Iraqi State
military forces. Saddam's body had reportedly been removed by a Sunni
tribal group before the tomb's destruction.
Media coverage
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The primary news source for the execution was the state-run Iraqi
television news station Al Iraqiya, whose announcer said that
"criminal Saddam was hanged to death". A scrolling headline read,
"Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history".
The BBC noted that a doctor, a lawyer, and various officials were
present, and that a video recording of the execution was made. Al
Arabiya reported that Saddam's lawyer had confirmed Saddam's death.
Major news networks carried official video of the moments leading up
to Saddam's execution. The Iraqi government also released pictures of
Saddam's dead body in a shroud.
Mobile phone video
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While officially released footage of the event stopped short of
showing the actual execution, an amateur video shot using a camera
phone from a staircase leading up to the gallows surface, contained
low-quality footage of the entire hanging. The amateur footage, unlike
the official footage, included sound; witnesses could be heard
taunting Saddam at the gallows.
On 3 January 2007, the Iraqi government arrested the guard who they
believe made the mobile phone video. However, it was too late to
prevent the video from spreading across the internet. Iraqi National
Security Advisor, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, later held a press conference
where he announced that three arrests had been made in connection with
the investigation into the video recording and leak.
Legality
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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." 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." 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 Hussein by
hanging. The organization also said Saddam should be treated as a
prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions. 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.
Lawyers for Saddam called the trial "a flagrant violation of
international law" and plan to continue "using all legal paths
available locally and internationally until public opinion gets the
truth about this political assassination." In a separate statement,
Saddam's American defense lawyer called the execution "an unfortunate
display of arrogant aggressor's injustice by the United States of
America under the leadership of American President George W. Bush. It
sets back achievements in international criminal law many decades and
sends a clear message to people all over the world that the United
States' aggression cannot be stopped by the law. It is truly a sad day
for international justice and sad beginning to a new year."
Perception of the Iraq 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 a Sunni Iraqi minister Hashim
Abderrahman al-Shibli, suspicions have arisen that the ministry may
have intended to inflame sectarian tensions. In an interview with 'La
República' 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 Muqtadá look
like the real enemy of the Sunnis."
United States President George W. Bush mentioned on 4 January 2007
that he wished that the execution "had gone on in a more dignified
way." 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—particularly the Saddam Hussein—execution.
It reinforced doubts in people's minds that the Maliki government and
the unity government of Iraq is a serious government. ... And it sent
a mixed signal to the American people and the people around the
world."
Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Saddam_Hussein