IRAQ: Mixed emotions as death sentence handed down to Saddam Hussein

A visibly shaken Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity on Sunday (November 5) and sentenced to hang by the U.S.-sponsored court that has been trying him in Baghdad for the past year. Iraqi people in Sadr City home to a large Shi'ite population within Baghdad took to the streets to express happiness and satisfaction over Saddam's verdict. Iraqis were tuned to the television sets in cafes waiting for the historic verdict. "It is a fair and good verdict. He deserves this (verdict) and more than that. We congratulate the Iraqi people and every honest man and we call on them not to fire celebratory shots so as not to be used by the Baathists and those who harbour bad intentions," said Haitham Jassim, a Shi'ite from Sadr City as he watched verdict flashed on television. In Najaf residents danced and sang in the streets following the verdict. The Iraqi High Tribunal also handed down death sentences to former revolutionary chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander and Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti. Former Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan was sentenced to life in prison. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the most powerful Shi'ite Islamist bloc in the government, praised the verdict but said now was the time for Iraqis to unite: "Saddam is gone ... His tyranny and injustice are over forever," Hakim told his party's television channel. The Shi'ite prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, said in a sombre televised speech to the nation that Saddam "is facing the punishment he deserves". Maliki's government has been criticised for interfering in the case, which concerns the deaths of more than 148 Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail. "All of the martyrs and all Iraqis have the right to smile and to feel a little happy about the verdict of this criminal," Maliki said. In a show of loyalty for Saddam, hundreds of people took to the streets of the city waving the Iraqi flag and holding up pictures of Saddam. "With our blood, we redeem you Saddam," the demonstrators chanted as gunfire pierced through the air. Tikrit, 100 miles north of Baghdad, is one of the powerbase of Saddam's regime. The reactions underscored the deep sectarian divisions in Iraq more than three years after the U.S.-led invasion. Saddam's counsel said the verdict was timed to help President George W. Bush's Republicans at Tuesday's congressional elections, and had urged a delay to prevent the sentence triggering bloodshed "for generations to come".

ITN Source | November 5, 2006

Tags:. .emotions. .criminal. .vice. .urged. .guilty