View source for Trial of Saddam Hussein

{{Short description|2005–2006 trial by the Iraqi Interim Government}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox court case
| name = Trial of Saddam Hussein
| image = SaddamHussein in court 2004July01 DF-SD-05-03944.jpg
| imagesize = 
| caption = Saddam Hussein sitting before an Iraqi judge at a courthouse in Baghdad, July 2004
| court = [[Iraqi Special Tribunal]] (IST)
| full name = 
| date decided = 19 October 2005 – 21 December 2006
| judges = 
| verdict = Saddam Hussein found guilty of crimes against humanity and subsequently sentenced to death; [[execution of Saddam Hussein|executed]] on 30 December 2006
| italic title = no
}}
{{Saddam Hussein series}}
The deposed [[President of Iraq]] [[Saddam Hussein]] was tried by the [[Iraqi Interim Government]] for [[crimes against humanity]] during his time in office.

The [[Coalition Provisional Authority]] voted to create the [[Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal|Iraqi Special Tribunal]] (IST), consisting of five Iraqi judges, on 9 December 2003, to try Saddam and his aides for charges of [[war crime]]s, [[crimes against humanity]], and [[genocide]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sachs |first1=Susan |title=Iraqi Governing Council Sets Up Its Own Court for War Crimes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/10/world/iraqi-governing-council-sets-up-its-own-court-for-war-crimes.html |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=10 December 2003}}</ref> dating back to the early 1980s.

Saddam [[Capture of Saddam Hussein|was captured by U.S. forces]] on 13 December 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Neil A. |title=THE CAPTURE OF HUSSEIN: LEGAL PROCESS; Iraqis Just Recently Set Rules to Govern Tribunal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/15/world/capture-hussein-legal-process-iraqis-just-recently-set-rules-govern-tribunal.html |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=15 December 2003}}</ref> He remained in custody by U.S. forces at [[Camp Cropper]] in [[Baghdad]], along with eleven senior [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Ba'athist]] officials. Particular attention was paid during the trial to activities in violent campaigns against the [[Kurds]] in the north during the [[Iran–Iraq War]], against the [[Shia Islam|Shiites]] in the south in 1991 and 1999 to put down [[rebellion|revolts]], and in [[Dujail]] after a failed assassination attempt against Saddam on 8 July 1982, during the Iran–Iraq War. Saddam asserted in his defense that he had been unlawfully overthrown, and was still the president of Iraq.

The first trial began before the Iraqi Special Tribunal on 19 October 2005. At this trial Saddam and seven other defendants were tried for crimes against humanity with regard to events that took place after a failed assassination attempt in Dujail in 1982 by members of the [[Islamic Dawa Party]] (see also [[Human rights in Ba'athist Iraq|human rights abuses in Iraq under Saddam Hussein]]). A second and separate trial began on 21 August 2006,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/21/AR2006082100058.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=As Genocide Trial Begins, Hussein Is Again Defiant | first=Amit R. | last=Paley | date=22 August 2006 | access-date=26 May 2010}}</ref> trying Saddam and six co-defendants for genocide during the [[Anfal campaign]] against the Kurds in northern Iraq.

On 5 November 2006, Saddam was sentenced to death by [[hanging]]. On 26 December, Saddam's appeal was rejected and the death sentence upheld. No further appeals were taken and Saddam was ordered executed within 30 days of that date. The date and place of the execution were secret until the sentence was carried out.<ref name="BBC on appeal">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6210245.stm |title=Death sentence for Saddam upheld |date=26 December 2006 |work=[[BBC World Service]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> [[Execution of Saddam Hussein|Saddam was executed]] by hanging on 30 December 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/01/01/wld02.asp |title=&#124;&#124; World |access-date=2007-01-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930012958/http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/01/01/wld02.asp |archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> With his death, all other charges were dropped.

Critics viewed the trial as a [[show trial]] that did not meet international standards on the [[right to a fair trial]]. [[Amnesty International]] stated that the trial was "unfair,"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde14/044/2006/en/|title=Iraq: Amnesty International condemns Iraqi Appeal Court verdict against Saddam Hussein and co-accused|website=www.amnesty.org|date=28 December 2006 }}</ref> and [[Human Rights Watch]] judged that Saddam's execution "follows a flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the [[rule of law]] in Iraq."<ref>[https://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950.htm Iraq: Saddam Hussein Put to Death], Human Rights Watch (30-12-2006).</ref> Several months before the trial took place, [[Salem Chalabi]], the former head of the Iraq Special Tribunal (which was established to try Hussein), accused interim Iraqi Prime Minister [[Ayad Allawi|Iyad Allawi]] of pushing for a hasty show trial and execution, stating: "Show trials followed by speedy executions may help the interim government politically in the short term but will be counterproductive for the development of democracy and the rule of law in Iraq in the long term."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3684052.stm|title=Iraq PM 'seeks Saddam show trial'|date=23 September 2004|access-date=26 May 2010|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

==First hearing: 1 July 2004==
The 67-year-old former president, Saddam Hussein, appeared confident and defiant throughout the 46-minute hearing. Alternating between listening to and gesturing at the judge [[Rizgar Mohammed Amin]], he questioned the [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimacy]] of the [[tribunal]] set up to try him. He called the court a "play" aimed at [[George W. Bush]]'s chances of winning the [[2004 United States presidential election|U.S. presidential election]].<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/69849F29-1B52-418A-8478-BBA0D3CFB37C.htm "Saddam defiant in court"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060603230802/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/69849F29-1B52-418A-8478-BBA0D3CFB37C.htm |date=3 June 2006 }}, 2 July 2004, [[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al-Jazeera]].</ref> He emphatically rejected charges against him. "This is all theater. The real criminal is Bush", he stated.<ref>[http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8863 "Know Nothing, Do Nothing"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822043143/http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8863 |date=22 August 2006 }}, ''[[The American Spectator]]'', 11 October 2005.</ref> When asked by the judge to identify himself in his first appearance before an Iraqi judge (three of the five judges and the prosecutor were never identified nor photographed for security reasons), he answered, "You are an Iraqi, you know who I am."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,,1596162,00.html "You are an Iraqi. You know who I am"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 20 October 2005.</ref>

Also during the arraignment, Saddam defended Iraq's August 1990 [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invasion of Kuwait]] and referred to Kuwaitis as "dogs" who were trying to turn the women of Iraq into "two-penny whores", which led to an [[admonition]] from the judge for using coarse language in court. Later on 1 July, [[Kuwait]]'s information minister Abul-Hassan said crude language was "expected" of Saddam. "This is how he was raised", said the minister.<ref>[http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=118085 Saddam upsets Kuwaiti 'dogs'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040808054329/http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=118085 |date=8 August 2004 }} at [[Mail & Guardian]] online</ref>

Although no [[Lawyer|attorneys]] for Saddam were present at the 1 July hearing, his first wife, [[Sajida Talfah]], hired a multinational legal team of attorneys, headed by [[Jordan]]ian [[Mohammad Rashdan]] and including [[Ayesha Gaddafi]] ([[Libya]]), [[Curtis Doebbler]] ([[United States]]), [[Emmanuel Ludot]] ([[France]]) and [[Marc Henzelin]] ([[Switzerland]]). Towards the end of the first hearing, the deposed president refused to sign the legal document confirming his understanding of the charges.<ref>{{cite news |title=Defiant Saddam rejects court, charges - Jul 1, 2004 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/01/iraq.saddam/ |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=CNN}}</ref>

==Pre-trial events==
In a leaked transcript of a February 2003 meeting between George W. Bush and Spanish Prime Minister [[José María Aznar|José Aznar]], Bush expressed a willingness to have Saddam tried at the [[International Court of Justice|International Tribunal of Justice]] in [[The Hague]].<ref>[[Wikisource:Bush-Aznar memo]]</ref>

In December 2004, [[Clive Stafford Smith]] prepared a 50-page brief for the defense team arguing that Saddam Hussein should be tried in the U.S. under U.S. criminal law.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060104220633/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1409391,00.html Saddam bids to challenge case in US] (''[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]]'', 19 December 2004)</ref>

The London-based Arab-language daily newspaper ''[[Al-Quds Al-Arabi]]'' reported in early May 2005 that during a meeting with [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]], "known only to a few Iraqi officials in Jordan", Saddam refused an offer of release if he made a televised request to armed groups for a ceasefire with allied forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&month=May2005&file=World_News200505026563.xml|title=Saddam rejects Rumsfeld offer of release|publisher=[[The Peninsula (newspaper)|The Peninsula]]|website=thepeninsulaqatar.com|access-date=19 October 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051111045201/http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&month=May2005&file=World_News200505026563.xml|archive-date=11 November 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> The British newspaper ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', quoting an unnamed senior UK government source, had reported two weeks before that Iraqi insurgents were being offered a "deal" whereby the President of Iraq would receive a more lenient sentence if they gave up their attacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/|archive-url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20081217070228/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 December 2008|title=News|date=15 March 2016|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref>

On 17 June 2005, former [[Prime Minister of Malaysia|Malaysian prime minister]] [[Mahathir Mohamad]], former [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]] [[Ramsey Clark]], former [[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] of France [[Roland Dumas]] and former [[President of Algeria]] [[Ahmed Ben Bella]] announced the formation, under their joint chairmanship, of an international [[Emergency Committee for Iraq]], with a main objective of ensuring fair trials for Saddam and the other former Ba'ath Party officials being tried with him.<ref>{{cite news |title=Give Saddam fair trial, says former Malaysian leader |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/give-saddam-fair-trial-says-former-malaysian-leader-1.291213 |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=gulfnews.com |date=18 June 2005 |language=en}}</ref>

On 18 July 2005, Saddam was charged by the Special Tribunal with the first of an expected series of charges, relating to the mass killings of the inhabitants of the village of Dujail in 1982 after a failed assassination attempt against him.

On 8 August 2005, Saddam's family announced that they had dissolved the Jordan-based legal team and that they had appointed [[Khalil al-Duleimi]], the only Iraq-based member, as the sole legal counsel.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4131474.stm |title=Saddam family slims defence team |date=8 August 2005 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> In an interview broadcast on Iraqi television on 6 September 2005, Iraqi president [[Jalal Talabani]] said that he had directly extracted confessions from Saddam that he had ordered mass killings and other "crimes" during his regime and that "he deserved to die." Two days later, Saddam's lawyer denied that he confessed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4225182.stm |title=Lawyer denies Saddam confession |date=8 September 2005 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>

Saddam's defense repeatedly argued for a delay in the proceedings, insisting that it had not been given evidence secured by the prosecution, had not been given sufficient time to review any prosecution documents, but these submissions received no response from the court. International human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and [[United Nations|UN]] bodies such as the [[Working Group on Arbitrary Detention]] and the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|High Commissioner for Human Rights]] stated that the Iraqi Special Tribunal and its legal process did not meet international standards for a fair trial. [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|United Nations Secretary-General]] [[Kofi Annan]] declined to support the proceeding, expressing similar concerns over fairness as well as over the possibility of a death sentence in the case.

==Al-Dujail trial: 19 October 2005==
Iraqi authorities put Saddam and seven other former Iraqi officials on trial on 19 October 2005, four days after the 15 October 2005 [[2005 Iraqi constitutional referendum|referendum]] on the new [[Constitution of Iraq|Iraqi constitution]]. The tribunal specifically charged the defendants with the [[Dujail Massacre|killing of 148 Shiites from Dujail]], in retaliation for the failed assassination attempt of 8 July 1982. Supporters of Saddam protested against the trial in [[Tikrit]].<ref>[http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/051019/2005101920.html Demonstrations, statements, supporting Saddam] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060114050449/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/051019/2005101920.html |date=14 January 2006 }}</ref> After the charges were read to them, all eight defendants pleaded not guilty. While initially open to the public, the trial was closed to them on 15 March 2006, after Saddam began making political statements on the stand and an argument began between him and the presiding judge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,187923,00.html|title=Judge Closes Trial During Saddam Testimony|date=15 March 2006|website=[[Fox News]]|access-date=15 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202053302/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,187923,00.html|archive-date=2 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Saddam's co-defendants were:
* [[Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti]], his half-brother and former chief of intelligence
* [[Taha Yassin Ramadan]], former Vice-President
* [[Awad Hamed al-Bandar]] Al-Sa'dun, a former chief judge
* [[Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid|Abdullah Kadhem Roweed Al-Musheikhi]], Al-Dujail Ba'ath party official
* [[Mizhar Abdullah Ruaid|Mizher Abdullah Roweed Al-Musheikhi]], (son of Abdullah Kadhem), Al-Dujail Ba'ath Party official
* [[Ali Dayeh Ali|Ali Daeem Ali]], Al-Dujail Ba'ath Party official
* Mohammed Azawi Ali, Al-Dujail Ba'ath Party official

As in his pre-trial appearance, at the opening of the 19 October trial, Saddam appeared defiant. He rejected the tribunal's legitimacy and independence from the control of the foreign occupation. "I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect to its people, and I retain my constitutional right as the president of Iraq", Saddam declared. He added, "Neither do I recognize the body that has designated and authorized you, nor the aggression because all that has been built on false basis is false."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6103428.stm |title=Excerpts: Saddam's courtroom clashes |date=5 November 2006 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> When the judge asked for his name, Saddam refused, stating "I am the president of Iraq". He returned the question, asking Kurdish judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, "Who are you? I want to know who you are." When Amin addressed Saddam as "the former president", Saddam objected emphatically, saying he was still the President of Iraq and had not been deposed.

The first session of Saddam's trial lasted three hours. The court adjourned the case until 28 November 2005, as some of the witnesses were too frightened to attend, and to allow the defense more time to study evidence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9652810|title=MSN - Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos|website=NBC News|date=16 October 2005 }}</ref> During an interview with the Arab news agency [[Al Arabiya]] following the opening of the trial, Saddam's eldest daughter [[Raghad Hussein|Raghad]] branded the court a "farce" and claimed that her father behaved like a "lion" during the proceedings. "He would be a lion even when caged. Every honest person who knows Saddam knows that he is firm and powerful."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/1449686/US-troops-drugged-my-father-to-stop-him-fighting.html|title=US troops 'drugged my father to stop him fighting'|work=The Telegraph|date=17 December 2003|last=de Quetteville |first=Harry|access-date=2 October 2014}}</ref>

The trial was adjourned on 28 November 2005 by Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin to allow time to find replacement lawyers for several of the defendants; Attorney [[Saadoun Antar al-Janabi|Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi]], charged with the defense of Awad Hamed al-Bandar, was abducted from his office by gunmen on 20 October 2005, and found shot dead near his office a few hours later. On 8 November 2005, attorney [[Adel al-Zubeidi]], who had been representing Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan and [[Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid]], was killed by three gunmen in Baghdad. Barazan Ibrahim's lawyer [[Thamer Hamoud al-Khuzaie]] was also wounded in the attack.

There were several incidents during the trial where Saddam showed defiance against the court's authority. At one point, Saddam's legal defense team stormed out of the court after questioning the tribunal's legitimacy, and asking about the return of defense papers seized by U.S. troops<!--source: interview with defense team leader shown by BBC --> and security issues regarding the protection of the defense. Saddam, along with his co-defendants, railed against Chief Judge Amin and the tribunal. The next day, after listening to hours of testimony against him, he lashed out at the judge. He said that he was exhausted, he did not intend on returning to the trial, and to "go to hell". Later, on 7 December 2005, Saddam refused to enter court, complaining of the conditions in which he was being held and the conduct of the trial. Saddam's complaints included, among other things, that he had not been able to change his clothes for four days.<ref>[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20051019-1445-saddamtrial.html A defiant Saddam pleads innocent, scuffles with guards in stormy hearing] at the ''[[San Diego Union-Tribune]]''</ref> On 12 December 2005, instead of cross-examining witnesses, Saddam accused his American captors of torturing him, saying, "I have been beaten on every place of my body, and the signs are all over my body."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4550314.stm |title='Americans tortured me' - Saddam |date=21 December 2005 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>

On 29 January 2006, the trial was thrown in disarray after a courtroom session in which Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was dragged away by guards, the defense team walked out, and Saddam was ejected following a slanging match with chief judge [[Rauf Rashid Abd al-Rahman]], who had replaced former chief judge Rizgar Amin, who resigned after complaining of government interference.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4639488.stm |title=Iraq court names new Saddam judge |date=23 January 2006 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>

Chief Prosecutor [[Jaafar al-Moussawi]] called for the death penalty for Saddam and four other defendants including Barzan al-Tikriti, Saddam's half-brother, Taha Yassin Ramadan, former Iraqi Vice President and Awad Hamed al-Bander, former chief judge of Saddam's [[Revolutionary Court (Iraq)|Revolutionary Court]]. The suspects faced execution by hanging if convicted and sentenced to death.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071224051611/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=BDPUAK4RDQNDVQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F06%2F19%2Fusaddam19.xml Saddam prosecution begins sum up] at ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''</ref>

Following the assassination of his chief defense lawyer, [[Khamis al-Obeidi]], Saddam began a hunger strike, protesting against the lack of international protection for lawyers, with the strike lasting 19 days.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/weekinreview/30cave.html "New York Times Saddam Hussein - Hunger Strike"] Published 30th July 2006</ref>

===Verdict: 5 November 2006===
[[Image:Saddam Hussein at trial, July 2004-edit1.JPEG|thumb|left|upright|Saddam Hussein at his appearance before the Iraqi Special Tribunal on 1 July 2004; he went on trial on 19 October 2005.]]
On 5 November 2006, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging for the killing of 148 Shiites from Dujail, in retaliation for the assassination attempt of 8 July 1982. When the judge announced the verdict, Saddam shouted, "Long live the people. Long live the [[Ummah]]. Down with the spies. [[Takbir|God is great]]."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/world/middleeast/05cnd-saddam.html?em&ex=1162875600&en=a28b7d91d06de1ba&ei=5087%0A|title=Saddam Hussein Is Sentenced to Death|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 November 2006 | first=Kirk | last=Semple | archive-date=9 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009021505/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/world/middleeast/05cnd-saddam.html}}</ref> Chief defense lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi later quoted a statement from Saddam given just before the Court issued its verdict. He said that Saddam urged his countrymen to "unify in the face of [[Sectarian violence|sectarian strife]]". Al-Dulaimi added that Saddam's message to the people was to "pardon and do not take revenge on the invading nations, its civilians".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15570667|title=Saddam urges Iraqis not to take revenge on US|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=5 November 2006}}</ref> An [[appeal]], mandated by the Iraqi judicial system, followed. There was speculation that the appeals could last years, postponing his actual execution. However, on 26 December, Saddam's appeal was rejected and the death sentence was given.<ref name="Case">{{Cite web|url=http://law.case.edu/saddamtrial/documents/20070103_dujail_appellate_chamber_opinion.pdf|title=Translation of Appellate ruling|date=26 December 2006|access-date=20 November 2009|publisher=Case western University/Iraqi High Tribunal|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610182238/http://law.case.edu/saddamtrial/documents/20070103_dujail_appellate_chamber_opinion.pdf|archive-date=10 June 2010}}</ref> No further appeals were possible and Saddam had to be executed within 30 days of that date. The decision still had to be ratified by the Iraqi President but could not be commuted.<ref name="BBC on appeal"/> Judge [[Arif Shaheen]], one of the nine appeal judges, said, "It cannot exceed 30 days. As from tomorrow the sentence could be carried out at any time. The appeals court has issued its verdict. What we have decided today is compulsory."

On 30 December 2006 at approximately 05:50 [[UTC+03:00]], Saddam's sentence was carried out and he was executed by hanging.

Among Saddam's co-defendants, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, his half-brother and Iraq's intelligence chief at the time of the Dujail killings, and [[Awad Hamed al-Bandar]], who issued death sentences to Dujail residents as head of a Revolutionary Court, were also sentenced to death by hanging. They were executed on 15 January 2007. Former Iraqi vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan was sentenced to life in prison.<ref name=Verdicts>{{cite news | author=BBC | title = Saddam trial: Verdicts in detail | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6118302.stm | publisher = BBC News |date= 5 November 2006}}</ref> However, on 12 February 2007,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6354205.stm | work=BBC News | title=Top Saddam aide sentenced to hang | date=12 February 2007 | access-date=26 May 2010}}</ref> the sentence was changed to death by hanging, and Ramadan was executed on 20 March 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070320/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq |title=Former Saddam aide buried after hanging - Yahoo! News |access-date=15 January 2017 |archive-date=22 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322130508/https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070320/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Former Ba'ath Party officials in the Dujail region [[Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid|Abdullah Kadhem Roweed Al-Musheikhi]], his son [[Mizhar Abdullah Ruaid|Mizher Abdullah Roweed Al-Musheikhi]], and [[Ali Dayeh Ali|Ali Daeem Ali]] were sentenced to 15 years in prison. Mohammed Azawi Ali, also a Ba'ath Party official in Dujail region, was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.<ref name=Verdicts/>
{{Clear}}

==Execution==
{{Main|Execution of Saddam Hussein}}
Saddam was executed by hanging after being convicted of crimes against humanity following his trial and conviction for the illegal killings of 148 Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in 1982. He was hanged on the first day of an important Islamic holiday, [[Eid al-Adha|Eid ul-Adha]], 30 December 2006, at approximately 06:05 AM local time (03:05 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]). The execution was carried out at "[[Camp Justice (Iraq)|Camp Justice]]," an Iraqi Army base in [[Kadhimiya|Kazimain]], a neighborhood of north-east Baghdad.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=MacAskill |first1=Ewen |last2=Howard |first2=Michael |date=2007-01-01 |title=How Saddam died on the gallows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jan/01/iraq.iraqtimeline |access-date=2024-10-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==Reactions==
===Reactions to the verdict===
'''{{flag|Iraq}}''': President [[Jalal Talabani]] said in a statement, "I think this trial was fair", and "I must respect the independence of the Iraqi judiciary. Until the end I must be silent."<ref name=BBC_Reaction_in_quotes>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6118298.stm |title=Saddam sentence: Reaction in quotes |date=5 November 2006 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] said the sentence may "help alleviate the pain of the widows and the orphans, and those who have been ordered to bury their loved ones in secrecy, and those who have been forced to suppress their feelings and suffering, and those who have paid at the hands of torturers" under Saddam's regime.<ref name=BBC_Reaction_in_quotes/> First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly [[Khaled al-Attiyah]] said "we expected the maximum penalty against the criminal Saddam Hussein and his henchmen because they committed horrible crimes against the Iraqi people, the Arabs, Kurds, Muslims and the entire Western community."<ref name=BBC_Reaction_in_quotes/>

'''{{flag|Australia}}''': Prime Minister [[John Howard]] said, "They could've easily allowed him to be arbitrarily executed as has happened in so many other countries, yet no, he could've been shot ... or something like that, but no, they were determined to have a transparent trial; they were determined to demonstrate to the world that there was a new Iraq." Howard said he was opposed to the death penalty, but could not govern what another country did. Howard stated that the death penalty is not the issue of significance. "The real issue is that he was tried in an open, transparent fashion and one of the great marks of democratic society is due process and the rule of law and this mass murderer was given due process."<ref>{{cite news | author= The Age | title = Saddam trial 'heroic', says Howard | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/saddam-trial-heroic-says-howard/2006/11/06/1162661578964.html |date= 6 November 2006 | location=Melbourne}}</ref>

'''{{flag|Belgium}}''': Belgian Foreign Minister [[Karel De Gucht]] believed that carrying out the death penalty on a 69-year-old would be "unethical", as reported by ''flandersnews.be''. Meanwhile, [[Prime Minister of Belgium|Prime Minister]] [[Guy Verhofstadt]] told the press that "justice has been done", although a spokesman for the Prime Minister later said that Verhofstadt felt that it would have been better to have tried Saddam Hussein at the [[International Criminal Court]] in The Hague.

'''{{flag|Canada}}''': [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Foreign Affairs Minister]] [[Peter MacKay]] said "my understanding is there is an appeal process to follow, so given that fact, I think it would be pre-emptive to be passing any judgments or making any firm public declarations until all of those avenues have been exhausted."<ref>{{cite news | author= Canadian Press | title = Tories' MacKay circumspect on Saddam verdict | url = http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061105/hussein_mackay_061105/20061105?hub=Canada | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070314154514/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061105/hussein_mackay_061105/20061105?hub=Canada | url-status = dead | archive-date = 14 March 2007 |date= 5 November 2006}}</ref>

'''{{flag|Egypt}}''': [[President of Egypt|President]] [[Hosni Mubarak]] warned against the death penalty for Saddam, stating that "Carrying out this verdict will explode violence like waterfalls in Iraq,"<ref name="Tavernise2006"/> and that "the verdict will transform [Iraq] into blood pools and lead to a deepening of the sectarian and ethnic conflicts."<ref name="Tavernise2006">{{cite news | author = [[Sabrina Tavernise|Tavernise, Sabrina]] | title = American Political Shift Linked to the War Is Met With a Shrug by Baghdad's Elite | date = 10 November 2006 | work = The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/world/middleeast/10iraq.html | url-status = live | access-date = 19 June 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180501102518/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/world/middleeast/10iraq.html | archive-date = 1 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | work = The Jerusalem Post | title = Mubarak warns Saddam verdict will bring bloodshed | date = 9 November 2006 | url = https://www.jpost.com/international/mubarak-warns-saddam-verdict-will-bring-bloodshed}}</ref>

'''{{flag|Hamas}}''': A spokesman for Hamas condemned Saddam's sentencing, stating that "We as [[Palestinians|the Palestinian people]] support whoever supports our people, and president Saddam Hussein was one of those," that "there was not a fair trial and those who judged him were those who participated in [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|the affair of the Abu Ghraib prison]] and crimes in Palestine," and that "the trial took place under [[Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)|American occupation of Iraq]]."<ref>{{cite news | work = Al Jazeera | title = Hamas condemns sentence | date = 5 November 2006 | url = https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/11/5/hamas-condemns-sentence | url-status = live | access-date = 19 June 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210124001203/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/11/5/hamas-condemns-sentence | archive-date = 24 January 2021}}</ref>

'''{{flag|India}}''': [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|External Affairs Minister]] [[Pranab Mukherjee]] reacted guardedly to the death sentence, saying such verdicts should not appear to be "victor's justice" and should be acceptable to the people of Iraq and the international community. In a statement, he said "such life and death decisions require credible due process of law."<ref>{{cite news | author = PTI | title = Saddam verdict: India reacts guardedly | url = http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/05saddam4.htm | work = Rediff.com |date= 5 November 2006}}</ref>

'''{{flag|Ireland}}''': A spokesperson for the [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Foreign Affairs Minister]] said "Ireland and its EU partners have made it clear in the past to Iraqi authorities that we are opposed to courts applying the death sentence."<ref name=BBC_Reaction_in_quotes/>

'''{{flag|Italy}}''': [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]] [[Romano Prodi]] said "While not wishing to play down the crimes... I cannot but express the firm opposition of the Italian government - as well as mine - to a death sentence. As I reiterated again today (27 December 2006) at the cabinet meeting, Italy is opposed to capital punishment, always and in all cases. It is a general principle that I reiterated firmly also at the United Nations."<ref>{{cite news | author = BBC| title = In quotes: Reaction to Saddam sentence
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6211761.stm| publisher = BBC |date= 27 December 2006}}</ref>

'''{{flag|New Zealand}}''': [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|Prime Minister]] [[Helen Clark]] stated that the guilty verdict was appropriate but that she has "a long-standing objection to the death penalty and that will always be a concern to me." She declined to make a comment on whether the trial was fair, saying it was hard to determine from so far away.<ref>{{cite news | author=NZPA | title = Clark backs Saddam verdict but opposes death penalty | url = http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10409377 | work = The New Zealand Herald|date= 6 November 2006}}</ref>

'''{{flag|Russia}}''': Foreign affairs committee member [[Konstantin Kosachev]] made a cautious statement, saying he doubted the death penalty would be carried out. He said, "this is more of a moral ruling, revenge that modern Iraq is taking on the Saddam Hussein regime."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1062317|title=Russia warns Saddam hanging would divide Iraq - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis|date=5 November 2006|website=dnaindia.com}}</ref>

'''{{flag|United Kingdom}}''': [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]] [[Margaret Beckett]] said "it is right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6118134.stm |title=Government hails Saddam verdict |date=5 November 2006 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref><ref>Reuters. [http://uk.news.yahoo.com/05112006/325/britain-welcomes-saddam-death-verdict.html "Britain welcomes Saddam death verdict"]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 5 November 2006.</ref> [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] Tony Blair stated that he is "against the death penalty, whether it is Saddam Hussein or anybody else."<ref>{{cite news|author=BBC News|title=PM 'opposes' Saddam death penalty|date=6 November 2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6120050.stm|access-date=6 November 2006}}</ref>

'''{{flag|United States}}''': [[White House Press Secretary]] [[Tony Snow]] said the trial showed "absolute proof" that the judiciary in Iraq are independent.<ref>{{cite news | author=Agence France-Presse| title = Verdict shows Iraq progress, says US | url =  http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20707850-1702,00.html | publisher = News Limited |date= 6 November 2006}}</ref> President George W. Bush in a statement said, "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law", and "today, the victims of this regime have received a measure of the justice which many thought would never come."<ref>{{cite news | author=George W. Bush | title = President's Statement on the Saddam Hussein Verdict | url =  https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061105-1.html | publisher = Office of the Press Secretary |date= 5 November 2006}}</ref>

'''{{flag|Vatican City}}''': The head of the [[Holy See|Vatican's]] Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal [[Renato Martino|Renato Raffaele Martino]], opposed the death sentence for Saddam, saying, "For me, punishing a crime with another crime – which is what killing for vindication is – would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."<ref>Reuters. [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L05244002.htm "Vatican, Catholic officials say 'don't hang Saddam'"] 5 November 2006.</ref>

'''{{flag|Zimbabwe}}''': The [[2008–2009 Zimbabwean political negotiations|Zimbabwe Exiles Forum]] in [[South Africa]] welcomed Saddam's death sentence, and hoped it sent a message to Zimbabwe's dictator [[Robert Mugabe]], as well as deposed dictators [[Augusto Pinochet]] of Chile and former Liberian dictator [[Charles Taylor (Liberian politician)|Charles Taylor]], saying:

:"[We] believe that together with the Pinochet, Taylor, and other recent cases, this case sends an unequivocally clear and resounding message to dictators and perpetrators of serious crimes under international and national laws. [We] hope that this loud message will not escape the ears of tyrants like President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and all those who serve under him in the commission of torture and other crimes against humanity."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/dec5_2006.html#Z23|title=ZEF's Statement|publisher=zimbabwejournalists.com|access-date=24 November 2008}}</ref>

===Criticism===
Critics, including Saddam's legal counsel Khalil al-Dulaimi, alleged that U.S. officials had a heavy influence on the court.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/iraq501/defining_victors.html|title=FRONTLINE/WORLD . Iraq - Saddam's Road to Hell - A journey into the killing fields . PBS|website=www.pbs.org}}</ref> In a statement, Khalil said, "this court is a creature of the US military occupation, and the Iraqi court is just a tool and rubber stamp of the invaders."<ref name="DateControversy1">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10409222 |title=Saddam verdict date 'rigged' for Bush |date=5 November 2006 |agency=[[Reuters]] |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>

Khalil al-Dulaimi and various international commentators alleged that the date on which the verdict was read live to the world, 5 November 2006, was deliberately selected by the Bush administration in order to influence the [[2006 United States elections|U.S. midterm elections]] which occurred two days later. This has been called a [[October surprise|November Surprise]].<ref name="DateControversy1"/><ref name="DateControversy3">{{cite news | first = Mohamad | last = Bazzi | title = Saddam verdict to come Sunday | url = http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wosado1104,0,2074407.story?coll=ny-top-headlines |date= 3 November 2006 }}</ref> The verdict was expected to be on 16 October 2006, but was postponed to consider recalling some of the witnesses.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Associated Press |title=Hussein judges delay verdict - The Boston Globe |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/10/04/hussein_judges_delay_verdict/ |work=The Boston Globe|date=4 October 2006 |language=en}}</ref> Even as the verdict was released verbally on 5 November, the written, the final verdict was not released until days later.<ref>{{cite news | author = Julia Preston | title = Hussein Trial Was Flawed but Reasonably Fair, and Verdict was Justified, Legal Experts Say | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/06/world/middleeast/06trial.html?ex=1320469200&en=485879ef021a4b9c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss | work = The New York Times| date = 6 November 2006 }}</ref>

''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that "Americans have drafted most of the statutes under which Hussein and his associates are being tried". It also reported that "A US official in Baghdad confirmed last weekend that only the United States and Britain had contributed experts to advise the court on how to prosecute governments for war crimes and other such matters".<ref>{{cite news | author=Ellen Knickmeyer| title = Hussein Trial Halts Again, Setting Off Wave of Criticism | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR2006012400299.html | newspaper = The Washington Post|date= 25 January 2006}}</ref>

Human rights organization [[Amnesty International]] criticized the death sentence and said the trial was "deeply flawed and unfair." The process was marred by "serious flaws that call into question the capacity of the tribunal," Malcolm Stuart, director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa program, said. "In particular, political interference undermined the independence and impartiality of the court."<ref>{{cite news | author = Amnesty International | title = Iraq: Amnesty International deplores death sentences in Saddam Hussein trial | url = http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE140372006 | date = 5 November 2006 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061106192905/http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE140372006 | archive-date = 6 November 2006}}</ref> The specific concerns raised by Amnesty International included the status of the trial as a "Special Trial" (unconstitutional according to the Iraqi Constitution), political interference in trial proceedings by the removal of a judge mid-trial, exclusion of members of the defense team at points in the trial, assassination of multiple members of the defense team, and the closure of the trial before the defense team had completed presenting its legal case.

In the opening statement of the Jury of Conscience of the [[World Tribunal on Iraq]], keynote speaker [[Arundhati Roy]] retorted, "Saddam Hussein is being tried as a war criminal even as we speak. But what about those who helped to install him in power, who armed him, who supported him—and who are now setting up a tribunal to try him and absolve themselves completely?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baltimorechronicle.com/062705Roy.shtml|title=''The Most Cowardly War in History'' |website=baltimorechronicle.com}}</ref>

==Legacy and long-term effects==
Journalist [[Mohamad Bazzi]] wrote in 2014 that Hussein's trial and execution deepened [[sectarianism]] in Iraq:

{{blockquote|The vengeful and sectarian way in which Hussein was killed deepened the civil war that had been raging inside Iraq since early 2006—Sunni violence against Shiites, followed by Shiite reprisals. And if there wasn’t a deep-rooted Sunni-Shiite rift in the region before Hussein’s hanging, there certainly was one after. In the days following his execution, Hussein emerged as a Sunni Arab hero who stood calm and defiant as his Shiite executioners tormented him.  No one will ever forget the way in which Saddam was executed", then–Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told the Israeli newspaper ''[[Yediot Aharonot]]''. "They turned him into a martyr". ...

Sunnis framed the hasty execution as an act of sectarian vengeance, shrouded in political theater and overseen by the American occupation. In several Arab capitals, Sunni protesters railed against the United States, Israel, and "Persians"—a code word for Shiites. Sunnis across the region saw the United States and the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government as killing off the last vestiges of Arab nationalism. ...

And in death, a new narrative emerged about the Iraqi dictator: that he had blocked Iranian dominance of the region, and had stood up to Israel.<ref>[[Mohamad Bazzi]], [How Saddam Hussein’s Execution Contributed to the Rise of Sectarianism in the Middle East], ''The Nation'' (15 January 2016).</ref>}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Iraq|Law}}
* [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]
* [[Execution of Saddam Hussein]]
* [[Show trial]]
* [[Victor's justice]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.albasrah.net/pages/mod.php?mod=art&lapage=../en_articles_2007/0107/final-letter_020107.htm Saddam's final message/letter to the world - on his Ba'ath party's website 2 January 2007]
{{wikinews|has=a section about Saddam Hussein and article relating to this story| Trial of Saddam Hussein to be televised| Saddam Hussein formally charged with the killing of Shia Muslims| Saddam Hussein sentenced to death for Dujail killings}}
* [https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3307904 World Rights Group critice Saddam Hussein's flawed trial]
* [http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5014411 Many Children hang themselves in imitation of Saddam Hussein's death]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070319011224/http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&month=January2007&file=World_News2007010331822.xml Saddam's last hours]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211065008/http://www.iraq-ist.org/en/home.html Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) homepage]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061104184049/http://www.law.case.edu/saddamtrial/ Grotian Moment: The Saddam Hussein Trial Blog]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/17/AR2007011700456.html Bombings kill over 60 people, mostly Shiites, 3 American soldiers, revenge for Saddam's death, 30 December 2006]
* [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/23/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Professor-Killed.php Shiite professor dies in Iraq, Diya al-Meqoter, one of many]
* [https://www.google.com/gwt/n?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smh.com.au%2Farticles%2F2003%2F05%2F19%2F1053196485657.html&_gwt_pg=0&hl=en&mrestrict=xhtml&q=kurdistan+official+shot+dead&source=m&site=search Daoud al-Qaissi, Saddam's singer executed]

{{Saddam Hussein}}

[[Category:Trial of Saddam Hussein| ]]
[[Category:2000s in Iraq]]
[[Category:2005 in law]]
[[Category:2006 in law]]
[[Category:2005 in Iraq]]
[[Category:2006 in Iraq]]

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