Region | Iraq
End of Saddam Hussain
Clutching a Quran and refusing a hood, Saddam Hussain went to the gallows before sunrise yesterday, bringing an end to one of the bloodiest chapters in Iraq's modern history.
- Gulf News Report
- Published: 00:00 December 31, 2006
Dubai: Clutching a Quran and refusing a hood, Saddam Hussain went to the gallows before sunrise yesterday, bringing an end to one of the bloodiest chapters in Iraq's modern history.
Click here to see the 'Life and times of Saddam Hussain' (pdf)
After a quarter-century of remorseless brutality that killed countless thousands and led Iraq into disastrous wars against the United States and Iran, Saddam was hanged inside one of his former torture chambers in Baghdad.
Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in Baghdad, Najaf and the Kurdish region to celebrate. Others, especially in Saddam's hometown Al Awja in Tikrit, rallied in protest and described him as a "martyr." His family, most of which is in Jordan, was "calm" as they watched the news, agencies reported. In the hours after his hanging, at least 77 Iraqis died in bombings.
Riyadh flays trial
There was outrage over the day of execution, as it came on the first day of Eid Al Adha. Saudi Arabia criticised Iraqi leaders, saying the trial had been politicised. "There is a feeling of surprise and disapproval that the verdict has been applied during the first days of Eid Al Adha ... It had been expected that the trial of a former president ... would last longer, demonstrate more precision, and not be politicised," a statement on the official Al Ikhbariya TV said, according to Reuters. Egypt also regretted the day of the execution.
Pilgrims in Makkah also expressed outrage that Iraqi authorities chose to execute Saddam on a major religious holiday.
US President George W. Bush hailed a milestone for Iraqi democracy, but the European Union condemned the execution, with one official calling it a barbaric act that could create an undeserved martyr.
Final words
Saddam, sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, struggled briefly after US guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners early in the morning. But as his final moments approached, he grew calm, chatting to his executioners as they placed the noose around his neck, Iraqi state television footage showed.
Officials who witnessed the execution said the 69-year-old remained defiant to the last, railing against his Iranian and American enemies and praising the insurgents who have pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war.
"The time of death was very, very close to 6am (0300 GMT) ... It went like a blink of an eye - he died very, very quickly," National Security Adviser Mowaffaq Al Rubaie said on TV. "Saddam's execution puts an end to all the pathetic gambles on the return to dictatorship," Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said in a statement soon afterwards.
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