IRAQ: Shi'ites celebrate Saddam death sentence but former President's hometown says verdict is unfair

Iraqi Shi'ites in different parts of Iraq poured onto the streets on Monday (November 6), dancing and chanting for joy at the fate of the man who oppressed them for three decades. On Sunday (November 5) an Iraqi court sentenced a shaken but defiant Saddam Hussein to hang for crimes against humanity, sparking joy from the Shi'ites he oppressed and resentment among his fellow Sunnis across Iraq's violent sectarian divide. In the town of Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, nearly one hundred people took to the streets, dancing and waving flags. "Death to Saddam, die you Baathists," chanted the crowd who carried pictures of the young firebrand Shi'ite Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. His half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, and former judge Awad al-Bander were also sentenced to death for killing, torturing and deporting hundreds of people from the Shi'ite town of Dujail after Shi'ite gunmen tried to kill Saddam there in 1982. Mahmoudiya, about 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, has a mixed Shi'ite and Sunni population and remains the scene of frequent bombings and mortar attacks. Meanwhile, around 50 people danced in the streets of the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala in celebration of the court's decision. Cheering people waved flags and carried pictures of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. However, streets at Saddam's hometown of Tikrit were deserted on Monday (November 6) as curfew continued for the second day. Iraqi soldiers could be seen manning checkpoints at the main streets of Tikrit town and police vehicles took positions near the governor's office and government buildings in the town. Members of the Iraqi security forces in the town, a former powerbase of Saddam's regime, described the sentence as unfair, calling for humanitarian organisations to interfere. "The court's decision is unfair and we were surprised by the court's verdict against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. We call on the humanitarian organisations and Arab countries to interfere and release the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. There is no President who is sentenced to death," said Iraqi soldier as he was securing a street in the town. "Trial of the former President Saddam Hussein is unfair and illegitimate, God willing there will be appeals and the sentence is reduced," said an Iraqi policeman wearing a ski mask. However, security forces said that they would work to keep full control of the town and prevent insurgent attacks until the curfew is lifted. Curfew in Baghdad and other areas in Iraq to prevent an insurgent backlash against the court ruling on Saddam Hussein is expected to be lifted on Tuesday (November 7), the prime minister Nouri Al Maliki's office said on Monday (November 6). It said vehicles will be allowed back in the streets of the capital at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT). Pedestrians are free to travel immediately in Baghdad. Saddam admitted ordering the execution of 148 men, calling it justified in wartime against allies of Shi'ite Iran. International human rights groups, which had called for the case to be heard abroad, said the killing of three defence lawyers, the resignation of a judge over political interference and flaws in evidence meant that it fell short of a fair trial. But U.S. and Iraqi officials hailed the year-long process as proof of the independence of Iraq's judiciary and a new landmark in the development of international war crimes law since Nazi leaders were tried, and some hanged, at Nuremberg 60 years ago.

ITN Source | November 6, 2006

Tags:. .revolution. .population. .joy. .deserted. .resignation