Ex-dictator 'deserved to be punished'

Dubai: The conviction and death sentence handed down yesterday to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussain for crimes against humanity, elicited strong reactions from people across the UAE.

Some people hailed the ruling, while others criticised the judicial process, dismissing the trial as a 'conspiracy.'

Dr Faleh Handal a former Iraqi army officer, who left Iraq in 1968, said that he had expected the result as Saddam 'deserved to be punished.'

"This man has been playing with fire since he came to power and I was expecting that he would meet his end either by a bullet, in battle or a trial," he told Gulf News. "But, if I was the judge, I would have had him deported and sent him into exile."

However, fellow Iraqi expatriate Waleed Ali, 30, said that he did not believe in the validity of the trial.

"It just seemed wrong. He should have been tried at a later date, in an international court, not while the US is still running Iraq. Also the timing is just too close to the US mid-term elections."

Other Arabs had mixed reactions, with UAE national Houriya Ahmad, 26, praising the conviction.

"He killed innocent people and I expected him to be given the death penalty," she said. "I don't expect this to mean more violence in Iraq. It is already so bad."

However, Saudi Arabian Turki Al Otaiba said he was 'shocked.' "This will benefit the Republican Party during the elections," he said.

Palestinian Eman Mansour, 36, says she regarded the trial as an 'American conspiracy.'

"If we start executing Western leaders then many would have to die... No one really knows whether Saddam is innocent or guilty. I was following his trial and none of the evidence presented justified his conviction."

Egyptian Ehab Thabit, 28, also deplored the conviction, saying that Saddam was regarded as a 'symbol for Arabs' and the only one who could 'control' Iraq.

"Look what we have now - George Bush. He is no good for Arabs and he is the one who should be put on trial. Everyday Arabs are dying not because of Saddam. Look at what Israel is doing in Palestine at the moment, what the Americans are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan?"

Indian K.T. Prabhakaran, 52, said he did not believe Saddam should be put to death. "If you compare his crimes to America's, Saddam is not as bad. What is the use? Things cannot get any worse for Iraq now."

However, Rafik Ali, 34, a consultant from the UK, said: "Whether it served the interests of the Americans, Europeans or the Iraqis, Saddam got his just dues. He was an oppressor. He had to go."