Saddam Hussein executed by hanging
{{date|December 30, 2006}}
[[Image:Saddam Hussein at trial, July 2004.JPEG|thumb|left|[[Saddam Hussein]]]]
{{InfoboxStart|infotitle=Saddam Hussein}}
{{Infosection|name=Recent news|
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category=Saddam Hussein
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{{Infosection|name=More info|
* [[w:Saddam Hussein|Profile: Saddam Hussein]]
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[[Saddam Hussein]], deposed president of Iraq, was executed shortly after 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning local time (0300 GMT) after he was [[w:Capital punishment|sentenced to death]] by an [[w:Iraq|Iraqi]] court for [[w:Crimes against humanity|crimes against humanity]] 

Three Iraqi television channels first reported that Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging as ordered after a U.S. judge refused to stop the execution in a last-ditch attempt by the defendant late Friday. 

Saddam had been found guilty of killing more than 148 members of the [[w:Shiite|Shiite]] population.  Witnesses to the execution gathered at the execution site, Baghdad’s "Green Zone." BBC News 24, however, has reported that the execution took place outside the "Green Zone", at a building known to the US Army as "Camp Justice".

"Saddam's body is in front of me," said an official in the prime minister's office. "It's over." The witness reported that celebrations broke out after Hussein was dead and that there was "dancing around the body."

Iraqi state television has shown Saddam going to his death and then his lifeless body after his death.

The executions of Hussein's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, president of the Revolutionary Iraqi Court, were postponed to a later date. Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie announced this move, saying, "We wanted to have this day to have a historic distinction."

On CNN, Saddam's [[w:Defence attorney|defence attorney]] alleged that the trial was "unfair" and that he and his co-counsel would fight for justice in Iraqi courts. 

[[w:Tikrit|Tikrit]], the town Saddam hid out in until his capture in late 2003 is under lockdown for 4 days due to the threat of violence. Coalition forces within Iraq are on high alert for possible retaliation attacks. On Sunday, Hussein was buried in the village of Ouja right outside of Tikrit.

US President [[w:George W. Bush|George W. Bush]] released a statement commemorating the former dictator's death but also warned that roadside bombs and other routine acts of violence will not suddenly end with his execution: "Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a [[w:democracy|democracy]] that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the [[w:War on Terror|War on Terror]]."

Meanwhile, many European nations appreciated Hussein facing justice but deplored the death penalty. "The [[w:European Union|European Union]] has a very consistent stand... on opposing the death penalty and it should not have been applied in this case either, even though there is no doubt about Saddam Hussein's guilt over serious violations against human rights," said Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish Foreign Minister and the current President of the European Union. Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, among others, also voiced a similar sentiment. The Vatican said that capital execution is always tragic news, even if it is about a person who has been guilty of grave crimes.

== Sources ==

*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6222159.stm|title=Nurse tells of 'gardener' Saddam
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=January 1, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6314525,00.html|title=Saddam's supporters in revenge vow
|author=
|pub=Guardian Unlimited
|date=January 1, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/2007/01/01/story291410.html|title=Reverend Jesse Jackson: Saddam hanging will worsen Iraq violence
|author=
|pub=Breaking News.ie
|date=January 1, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/06/516&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en|title=Statement by EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner on the passing of Saddam Hussein
|author=
|pub=European Union
|date=January 1, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200612/e1d96517-0f2f-4fba-b1ac-d1550a08b1d8.htm|title=Britain 'respects' Saddam execution
|author=
|pub=epolitix.com
|date=December 31, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.ucb.co.uk/index.cfm?itemid=152|title=Iraqi exiles are concerned about post-Saddam execution backlash
|author=
|pub=United Christian Broadcasters Website
|date=December 31, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6221481.stm|title=Saddam not hanged for revenge
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=December 31, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061230/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam|title=Saddam Hussein executed for war crimes
|author=
|pub=Yahoo News
|date=December 30, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein/index.html|title= Hussein executed with 'fear in his face'
|author=
|pub=CNN
|date=December 30, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6218485.stm|title=Saddam Hussein executed in Iraq 
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=December 30, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1238225.php/Vatican_Saddam_execution_is_tragic_news|title=Vatican: Saddam execution is 'tragic news' 
|author=
|pub=Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
|date=December 30, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2524189_1,00.html|title=Saddam Hussein is hanged, defiant to the last 
|author=Ned Parker and Marie Colvin
|pub=Times Online (UK) 
|date=December 30, 2006}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.dikkat.org/dikkat.asp?islem=yolla&id=542 Saddam Hüssein Execution Full video]
*[http://pdl.stream.aol.com/netscape/us/video/2006/12/Netscape-Saddam_Execution_Video_full_including_the_drop_dl.avi Video of the execution] <small>'''Graphic content: Some may find this disturbing'''</small>

{{publish}}

{{archive}}
[[Category:Crime and law]]
[[Category:Obituaries]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Iraq]]
[[Category:Saddam Hussein]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Baghdad]]
[[Category:Shia Islam]]

[[bs:Sadam Husein pogubljen danas u 4 sata]]
[[ca:Saddam Hussein, penjat a la forca]]
[[de:Saddam Hussein hingerichtet]]
[[es:Ejecutan a Saddam Husein]]
[[fr:Saddam Hussein a été exécuté]]
[[it:Saddam Hussein è stato giustiziato]]
[[he:סדאם חוסיין נתלה בבגדד]]
[[ja:フセイン元大統領の死刑執行]]
[[no:Saddam Hussein henrettet]]
[[pl:Saddam Husajn został stracony]]
[[pt:Saddam Hussein está morto]]
[[sr:Садам Хусеин погубљен вјешањем]]
[[ta:சதாம் உசேன் தூக்கிலிடப்பட்டார்]]
Saddam Hussein


Saddam Hussein, deposed president of Iraq, was executed shortly after 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning local time (0300 GMT) after he was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court for crimes against humanity 

Three Iraqi television channels first reported that Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging as ordered after a U.S. judge refused to stop the execution in a last-ditch attempt by the defendant late Friday. 

Saddam had been found guilty of killing more than 148 members of the Shiite population.  Witnesses to the execution gathered at the execution site, Baghdad’s "Green Zone." BBC News 24, however, has reported that the execution took place outside the "Green Zone", at a building known to the US Army as "Camp Justice".

"Saddam's body is in front of me," said an official in the prime minister's office. "It's over." The witness reported that celebrations broke out after Hussein was dead and that there was "dancing around the body."

Iraqi state television has shown Saddam going to his death and then his lifeless body after his death.

The executions of Hussein's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, president of the Revolutionary Iraqi Court, were postponed to a later date. Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie announced this move, saying, "We wanted to have this day to have a historic distinction."

On CNN, Saddam's defence attorney alleged that the trial was "unfair" and that he and his co-counsel would fight for justice in Iraqi courts. 

Tikrit, the town Saddam hid out in until his capture in late 2003 is under lockdown for 4 days due to the threat of violence. Coalition forces within Iraq are on high alert for possible retaliation attacks. On Sunday, Hussein was buried in the village of Ouja right outside of Tikrit.

US President George W. Bush released a statement commemorating the former dictator's death but also warned that roadside bombs and other routine acts of violence will not suddenly end with his execution: "Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror."

Meanwhile, many European nations appreciated Hussein facing justice but deplored the death penalty. "The European Union has a very consistent stand... on opposing the death penalty and it should not have been applied in this case either, even though there is no doubt about Saddam Hussein's guilt over serious violations against human rights," said Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish Foreign Minister and the current President of the European Union. Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, among others, also voiced a similar sentiment. The Vatican said that capital execution is always tragic news, even if it is about a person who has been guilty of grave crimes.


bs:Sadam Husein pogubljen danas u 4 sata
ca:Saddam Hussein, penjat a la forca
de:Saddam Hussein hingerichtet
es:Ejecutan a Saddam Husein
fr:Saddam Hussein a été exécuté
it:Saddam Hussein è stato giustiziato
he:סדאם חוסיין נתלה בבגדד
ja:フセイン元大統領の死刑執行
no:Saddam Hussein henrettet
pl:Saddam Husajn został stracony
Saddam Hussein está morto
Crime and law Obituaries Politics and conflicts Iraq Saddam Hussein Middle East Asia Baghdad Shia Islam