Sentenced to death by hanging. That's the November 5 verdict of an Iraqi court on Saddam Hussein for his part in the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail. There were mixed reactions in Iraq and around the world at the news.
Protests held by Sunnis in Saddam-loyal communities were juxtaposed against celebrations of Shiites, a volatile situation that has sent jitters across the region and the international community. The Iraqi Government strengthened its security by introducing a curfew to avoid eruption of any possible large-scale violence.
Iraqi media echoed some local observers that it did not seem like a coincidence that the sentence came just two days before the U.S. midterm election, when the Bush administration is under great pressure to readjust its Iraqi policy that has been challenged by bombs, kidnappings and rampant crimes in the war-torn country. The White House denied any link between the verdict and the elections and President George W. Bush called the verdict "a milestone in Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law."
The European Union, however, condemned the capital punishment and warned that any execution would bring new tensions to the region, while Islamic leaders expressed worry that the verdict could "inflame those who revile the United States, undermining its policy in the volatile Middle East and inspiring terrorists to strike."
Saddam's trial has been a nine-month roller-coaster watched avidly by an emotional nation. During the trial three defense lawyers and a witness were murdered. Defiant and shouting "Long live the people and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!" after hearing the verdict, Saddam had to be physically led out of the court.
A disheveled Saddam, who had ruled Iraq with an cast iron fist, was discovered underground near his home village north of Baghdad in December 2003, having fled from American forces in Baghdad. Two years later he went on trial for ordering the Dujail genocide.
Under the current Iraqi law, Saddam still has a chance to appeal errors of the law or trial procedure within 30 days after the sentence. Should the verdict be upheld on appeal, the death penalty will also automatically require review by Iraq's three-man Presidency Council, which, according to Associated Press, agreed six months back not to block the death penalty for Saddam.
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