Region | Iraq
Iraq on edge on the eve of 'historic day'
Iraq's prime minister said yesterday he hoped Saddam Hussain gets "what he deserves" when judgment is delivered in his trial for crimes against humanity today, and called for calm amid fears of a violent backlash.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 November 5, 2006
- Image Credit: EPA
- Iraqi soldiers man a checkpoint in central Baghdad, part of an open-ended curfew designed to head off a feared outbreak of violence when a court delivers its verdict in the trial of Saddam Hussain.
Baghdad: Iraq's prime minister said yesterday he hoped Saddam Hussain gets "what he deserves" when judgment is delivered in his trial for crimes against humanity today, and called for calm amid fears of a violent backlash.
If convicted, Saddam could be sentenced to hang.
The army was on alert with all leave cancelled and state television said a curfew will keep Baghdad and two flashpoint provinces locked down today.
"We have to ensure the safety of Iraqi people from loyalists of Saddam, as Sunday is a historic day," said Bassam Ridha, an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, one of Saddam's oldest foes.
Saddam's chief lawyer Khalil Al Dulaimi said Saddam believed the verdict was timed to boost President George W. Bush before US mid-term elections on November 7, and urged a delay.
Former US attorney general Ramsey Clark, who leads an international group of lawyers involved in the defence, said Saddam would almost certainly receive the death sentence but it would be "victors' justice".
"It will create violence maybe for generations to come," he said, adding that the trial was politically influenced.
"It's an unfair trial in more ways than you can count. Where have we seen a trial take place in the midst of such uncontrollable violence?" he said.
Al Maliki said he hoped Saddam gets "what he deserves" for what he did to the Iraqi people. Al Maliki, who leads a government dominated by Shiites and Kurds, called for calm and urged Iraqis to "express their happiness in a way that takes into consideration the security situation".
Iraqi state television said an indefinite curfew would be imposed in Baghdad and the provinces of Diyala and Salahaddin, Saddam's home province, from early this morning. While the eyes of the world may be turned to the trial, many Iraqis are preoccupied with relentless sectarian violence and insurgent attacks killing hundreds every week.
"Every day my heart is tortured when one of my six sons is late, fearing he might be kidnapped or hurt," said Um Adnan, a 68-year-old housewife. "Don't ask me about Saddam, ask me about seeing peace prevail in Iraq and my sons stay alive."
In Baghdad yesterday, US-backed Iraqi special forces raided a "murder and kidnapping cell" in the Shiite slum district of Sadr City. Three suspects were arrested, US forces said.
Also, Iraqi police commandos killed 53 suspected Al Qaida militants in a fierce gunbattle on the southern outskirts of Baghdad.
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