Saddam Sentenced To Hang
(Continously updated thru the day, bumped occasionally)
Saddam Hussein Sentenced to Die for Crimes Against Humanity
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein, the iron-fisted dictator who ruled Iraq for nearly a quarter of a century, was found guilty of crimes against humanity Sunday and sentenced to death by hanging.
The so-called Butcher of Baghdad, who was president of Iraq from 1979 until he was deposed by Coalition forces in April 2003, was convicted of the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail.
The visibly shaken former leader shouted "God is great!" as Iraq's High Tribunal announced his sentence. ...
*** Saddam sentenced to death by hanging
Allahpundit
For his part in the massacre at Dujail, which I encourage you to compare to the Nazi massacre at Lidice. These guys all follow the same playbook; this particular game just happened to end a little differently.
Barzan al-Tikriti, the former head of intelligence, and Awad al-Bandar, the head of the Revolutionary Court, got the noose too. Taha Yassin Ramadan, his VP, was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to life. Saddam himself wanted a firing squad. Instead they sentenced him like a common criminal, just the way Churchill wanted to do to Hitler.
The BBC has a short photo essay on Dujail. Here’s the last picture in the series. What follows is left to your imagination:
[image]
... Dujail’s the tip of the iceberg, one notorious incident for which they had good evidence. The crimes against the Kurds have yet to be punished. But there’s small satisfaction, at least, in some of them having gotten to face the bastard down in court. This incident, for whatever odd reason, I find especially moving. “Congratulations Saddam Hussein - you are now in a cage!” ...
*** Waiting for the Saddam verdict:
update - sentenced to death by hanging
Michelle Malkin
***update: Hussein found guilty of crimes against humanity......more...PJM coverage...Sky News: he shouted "Allahu akbar!"...refused to stand for the verdict and had to be lifted to his feet by two court bailiffs...justice will not be swift: phase two and appeal begin..."Saddam is in the middle of a second crimes against humanity trial and the appeal against the Dujail death sentence will start on Monday, taking two months. He had wanted to face a firing squad - that request was refused."***
BBC: The former Iraqi president was convicted by a Baghdad court for his role in the killing of 148 people in the mainly Shia town of Dujail in 1982.
His half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and Iraq's former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bandar were also sentenced to death.
Former Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan got life in jail and three others received 15 year prison terms.
Another co-defendant, Baath party official Mohammed Azawi Ali, was acquitted. ...
Update 8:13am Eastern: White House reax via Reuters..."The White House called the verdict handed down to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Sunday a good day for Iraqis. "It's a good day for the Iraqi people," White House spokesman Tony Snow said." ...
*** SADDAM TO DIE
SeeDubya
This is the kind of therapeutic hemp I can really get behind!
GEHENNA (JYB NEWS BUREAU) Leering devils sharpened pitchforks and heated a vat of molten lead to physically impossible temperatures in preparation to receive the soul of Saddam Hussein, after it an Iraqi tribunal announced he would be hanged.
"It's a real challenge, when we get someone in of this magnitude of evil," said a spokesdevil for Tormenter General Gugmunch. "Designing appropriate punishments that address both the blackness of Saddam's twisted heart and the enormous degreee of suffering and misery he has inflicted upon the world is an important task. Fortunately we will have a long, long, long time to explore the possibilities." ...
*** Saddam: Death by hanging!
Squiggler
It's official! Finally! Will DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Senator Jay Rockefeller celebrate with the Iraqis today? They both think Iraq would be better off with Saddam still in power. CNN's Ted Turner said this past Monday that Iraq was no better off now than under Saddam. Somehow the Iraqis do not seem to agree. ...
***
See also
*** The verdict for Saddam: Death!
Karl (at Leaning Straight Up)
Is anyone really surprised? Were the mass graves really that unconvincing?
The question of the day is whether this verdict, which has caused both dancing in the streets and threats of a firestorm of retaliation will make Iraq safer or more unstable.
The liberal nutroots will any moment claim the verdict was timed to give Bush the help for the elections, even as they pronounce the dire deterioration of any hope of peace.
The LA Times of course hints that the verdict was rigged and unfair, as well as the timing question.
Somewhere lost in the partisan bickering we lost sight of the reality of who and what he was.
He was a monster. ...
*** L.A. Times Has “Doubts” About Hussein Court’s Legitimacy
Patterico
The Saddam Hussein verdict is about to come down, so it’s naturally time for the L.A. Times to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the court that tried him. The story is titled 1st Hussein trial ending amid doubts, with a deck headline that reads, “Today’s verdict could send the former Iraqi leader to death. But questions persist about the court’s fairness.”
The story doesn’t really provide any hard evidence that the court has been illegitimate. To the contrary, there is a clear contrast between “justice” under Hussein, in which 148 “defendants” were “sentenced” to death in two weeks — and this trial, which has featured extensive procedural protections, to the point that it has dragged on so long that the world can now snidely comment that the timing is designed to affect U.S. elections.
Rather, the story relies on the criticism of unnamed “international legal experts” as well as snide comments like this one: The prosecutors remained in the orderly world of the heavily fortified multistory courthouse here. They focused on the 130 witnesses who gave written and spoken testimony and painstakingly compiled documentary evidence over 40 sessions, as if strict adherence to legal formulas could wash away questions about the legitimacy of a court set up under formal U.S. occupation.
But then there’s “balance”: ...
*** Swingin' Saddam
Ed Morrissey
The Iraqi tribunal has convicted Saddam Hussein and two of his co-defendants for crimes against humanity in the 1982 Dujail massacre, and have sentenced all three to death by hanging. Saddam refused to stand and face the court when the verdict was read, and had to be hauled to his feet by bailiffs: [...]
Saddam may not die by the rope soon. He has an automatic appeal to a nine-judge panel, which can take all the time it wants to review the case, and in the meantime Saddam will stand trial for the massacres of the Kurds during his reign. The appellate panel may choose to allow that entire trial before giving its verdict on the appeal, as Iraq would have to execute Saddam within 30 days of their decision if they uphold the verdict. The Kurds might want Saddam alive for the entirety of this next trial, although security concerns might convince them otherwise.
The normal silliness continued in the courtroom for the verdict. Ramsey Clark, who never met a dictator he didn't like, got thrown out of the court before the verdict was read. He filed a brief with the court that called the trial a travesty. The Iraqi judges, who tend to think of Saddam's reign as the real travesty, issued the Amityville Horror order in response to the memorandum: Get Out. ...
*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 07:38 Ramsey Clark, you are a mockery!
Michelle Malkin
This has got to be one of the most satisfying moments of the Saddam Hussein trial today: ... The judge presiding over the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven others on charges of crimes against humanity ejected former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark from the court on Sunday for insulting the tribunal.
Clark, who heads an international team of lawyers involved in the defence, was ejected at the start of a hearing at which Saddam and two aides were convicted and sentenced to death.
The judge, Raouf Abdul Rahman, ejected Clark because he had sent a memo to Abdul Rahman including the accusation that the tribunal was making 'a mockery of justice'.
The judge told him in Arabic: 'No, you are the mockery ... get him out, out.' ...
... 'You come from America and ridicule the Iraqi people,' he said.
He embarrasses us all.
*** Video: Bush praises Saddam verdict
Allahpundit
Davids Medienkritik predicted this morning that the Euroleft would immediately start whining about the sentence.
Admittedly, not the most daring prediction. But right is right.
Meanwhile, as Time mag moves quickly to stamp out any flames of happiness or satisfaction, Saddam calls for calm: [...]
The president looks old.
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