Iraq on alert as Saddam's hanging nears
By Nicholas Brown,WNS Iraq Bureau Chief
BAGHDAD - Iraq was nervously awaiting the execution of Saddam Hussein on Friday, amid rumours that the hanging is imminent and fears it could trigger yet more violence in the blood-soaked country. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the families of some of the ousted dictator's victims that Saddam's would be put to death without delay, but did not put a precise date on his trip to the gallows. "Our respect for human rights means we must implement the execution of Saddam and his aides. Those who reject Saddam's execution are undermining the dignity of the martyrs of Iraq," he said, acccording to his office. "After the endorsement of the court ruling, no one can prevent the execution sentence against Saddam. There will be neither a revision nor a delay in the implementation of the execution sentence against Saddam and his aides."
However, a senior official in Maliki's office told AFP that it was unlikely that the execution would be carried out during the Eid al-Adha holiday, which begins at the weekend and will last until at least Thursday. Saddam's defence counsel fed speculation about the execution by announcing that he had been asked to send someone to collect Saddam's belongings from the US base where he is being held. "The Americans called me and asked me to pick up the personal effects of the president and Barzan al-Tikriti," lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi told AFP in Amman, referring to Saddam's half brother, who has also been sentenced to death. Dulaimi said that he did not think that the US military had already handed Saddam over to the Iraqi authorities who will carry out the execution, but added that "anything is possible".
And another defence lawyer, Issam Ghazaoui, said: "We have no information, no one has told us if the president will be executed tomorrow or when ... In Iraq anything is possible." US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Garver said Saddam was under Iraqi legal authority, but "for security reasons" would not confirm whether or not he had been physically moved from a US military detention centre. "Legally he was turned over to the Iraqis more than a year ago," he explained. "At the request of the Iraqi government we have maintained him at a US facility for security reasons." The head of Iraq's interior ministry command centre, Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, said the beleaguered security forces were on high alert ahead of a hanging expected to exacerbate sky-high sectarian tensions. "Certainly, this is a big event, putting into effect the execution of this serial killer," he said. "We will take measures proportionate to this event. We will put all our forces on the streets so that no lives are jeopardised."
posted by wnsworld @ 5:03 PM
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