Saddam to be hanged within 30 days
MIL/Agencies, Dec 27, 2006.
December 27, 2006 - Saddam Hussein is to be executed within the next 30 days after his appeal against a death sentence for crimes against humanity was rejected yesterday by the highest appeals court in Iraq.
The decision on exactly when the former dictator is put to death now lies with the Iraqi government, which is dominated by Shias, the Muslim community that suffered so heavily under himWhile there was no immediate word from the government on timing, the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia, has repeatedly said he favours a swift execution.
Saddam has been denied his request to be executed by firing squad, a punishment reserved for soldiers. Instead he will be hanged like a common criminal.
News of the verdict prompted none of the celebrations by his enemies seen in November when he was sentenced. Instead people were bracing themselves for more violence. While the execution will close one chapter in Iraq's bloody history, few expect it to end the turmoil threatening to turn into full-blown civil war. The killing continued yesterday with at least 44 people dying in bomb attacks. The worst claimed 25 lives in a triple car bombing in a Shia suburb of western Baghdad.
And with no end in sight to American and British involvement, US forces passed a grim milestone when their death count in Iraq exceeded 2,973, the number of victims of the September 11 attacks.
Full Story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/27/wsaddam27.xml
| 
