Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been convicted of crimes against humanity by a Baghdad court and sentenced to death by hanging.

He was found guilty over his role in the killing of 148 people in the mainly Shia town of Dujail in 1982.

 

His brother Barzan al-Tikriti was also sentenced to death, as was Iraq's former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander

 

Former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan got life in jail and three others received 15 year prison terms.

 

Another co-defendant, Baath party official Mohammed Azawi Ali, was acquitted.

 

Saddam Hussein shouted out "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest) and "Long live Iraq. Long live the Iraqi people!" after the judge announced the verdict.

 

Correspondents say the former leader looked visibly shocked as the sentence was passed, but the BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson said that as he was led away Saddam Hussein seemed to have a small smile on his face.

 

"It was as if he was thinking 'I've come here and done what I intended to do'," our correspondent said.

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The main question here is what will this do to Iraq? I personally think it willl just intensify the Insurgency, when he is executed there is a chance I think he will be treated as a martyr, which will not help the current situation at all :(

 

EDIT: Updated with full story

Edited November 5, 200618 yr by Prince Jigolo

Agreed, it will make him a hero and martyr among the Sunni's and among American hating muslim's across the middle east who saw him as a symbol of American oppression, far better to let him rot in jail for the rest of his life

 

Bush and Rumsfeld should be in the same dock for mass murder too

Omg they're going to HANG him? :o That's just wrong imo. -_-

I would prefer hung, drawn and quartered, but I guess this will be sufficient.

He thinks he should be shot by a firing squad, but it seems you only get that if you were in the military, and he failed his military exams. He appointed himself as Field Marshal General, which doesn't count!

 

He's a horrible, horrible man and the world would be a better place without him, but there are so many other problems in Iraq now who knows whether it would make any difference?

And now he will Appeal the verdict. And that will drag on for another few months.

Why they didn't just put a bullet in his head when they found him cowering in his hiding place is beyond me. <_<

And now he will Appeal the verdict. And that will drag on for another few months.

Why they didn't just put a bullet in his head when they found him cowering in his hiding place is beyond me. <_<

 

Actually it only takes 20 days for the appeal to be heard in Iraq, and they have to execute him within 30 days if that fails.

The point is though that Bush is as bad as Saddam Hussein and has murdered as many innocent people as Hussein but one of them is free and eating lobster in the White House and the other is facing the gallows, it is not right that mass murderer Bush is presiding over the fate of Hussein even indirectly when he has done just as bad if not worse than Hussein, Bush should be facing the gallows too

Actually it only takes 20 days for the appeal to be heard in Iraq, and they have to execute him within 30 days if that fails.

 

Good. -_-

 

This is still just an attempt to boost Bush in the Mid Term elections where the Democrats are heading the poll for both Senate and Representatives, that poll is this week and the verdict is suddenly rushed out ? hmmmm

 

Now the American people will hail Bush as the great hero that killed their bogeyman and suddenly the Democrat lead will evaporate :rolleyes:

 

The trials seem to have reached a conclusion very quickly indeed, its like Bush told them what the verdict was to be and then rush it out in time for 2 days before the mid terms

 

I have no time for Hussein he is scum but this whole thing seems to have been manipulated to aid Bush in the mid terms

for me this is very wrong. Saddam Hussain was a man of many deficiencies and what he did he thought was right. EG when he had an assassination attempt against him he then went off and murdered the people responsible.

 

Bush does what he thinks is right but makes sure he keeps within US laws so as not to provoke complaint. There are so many things that the US have done that are wrong, and the legal groundings for such an early entry into Iraq where completely unfounded and based on nothing but rumour and conjecture.

 

We as a democracy have moved away from dictatorship but we cannot suddenly rush into another country, enforce our own laws and bring in our own companies to rebuild and move it forward. That is not helping the country it is taking it over and running it in the way we want.

 

For me what Saddam did was wrong but given the deficiencies in the west in the lead up to this its only hypocritical to sentence him to death.

 

As well as this being designed to help Bush win the mid term elections I also read that the judge in charge of the case had relatives killed in the poison gassing of a kurdish town by Hussein's police, that is hardly impartial :rolleyes:

 

That would be like someone killing me then my brother or uncle being the judge in the trial, hardly fukkin impartial is it

For me what Saddam did was wrong but given the deficiencies in the west in the lead up to this its only hypocritical to sentence him to death.

Exactly :rolleyes: It's alright for America to kill loads of innocent people as they're America apparently -_- As usual when I argue against the death penalty who made them god exactly? :angry: "Yeah YOU'RE not allowed to kill people because it's morally wrong but WE'RE above that and allowed to kill you" :rolleyes:

This is still just an attempt to boost Bush in the Mid Term elections where the Democrats are heading the poll for both Senate and Representatives, that poll is this week and the verdict is suddenly rushed out ? hmmmm

 

Now the American people will hail Bush as the great hero that killed their bogeyman and suddenly the Democrat lead will evaporate :rolleyes:

 

The trials seem to have reached a conclusion very quickly indeed, its like Bush told them what the verdict was to be and then rush it out in time for 2 days before the mid terms

 

I have no time for Hussein he is scum but this whole thing seems to have been manipulated to aid Bush in the mid terms

 

That's pretty much the size of it mate... The whole thing was a US-backed show-trial from the get-go anyway... His case should have been heard at a War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, but then, of course, The Hague cant actually send down a death sentence can they.....? <_<

 

And they went for this relatively lesser charge as well (let's face it folks, it would be a wee bit like putting Hitler on trial just for killing those who plotted to have him assassinated during WW2 in essence innit...?), as opposed to actually charging him with crimes against humanity or actual war crimes just to ensure that the trial would be held in Iraq and a death sentence would be handed down... The whole thing just stinks...

 

I dont really care about Saddam as such, I just totally object to the way that this whole thing was used by the Bush Admin as a vote-winner as opposed to how it should have been done - in the Hague with a FULL war crimes trial, like Milosevic....

 

And you are absolutely correct, if Saddam gets a death sentence for murdering a few dozen Iraqis (and I'm leaving aside all the instances of crimes against the Kurds, Shi'ites and Marsh Arabs, because he was NOT charged with any crimes pertaining to other, vastly more brutal massacres, which is essentially my whole point really...) then Bush and B-Liar should certainly receive one for murdering 20-odd THOUSAND......

 

That's pretty much the size of it mate... The whole thing was a US-backed show-trial from the get-go anyway... His case should have been heard at a War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, but then, of course, The Hague cant actually send down a death sentence can they.....? <_<

 

And they went for this relatively lesser charge as well (let's face it folks, it would be a wee bit like putting Hitler on trial just for killing those who plotted to have him assassinated during WW2 in essence innit...?), as opposed to actually charging him with crimes against humanity or actual war crimes just to ensure that the trial would be held in Iraq and a death sentence would be handed down... The whole thing just stinks...

 

I dont really care about Saddam as such, I just totally object to the way that this whole thing was used by the Bush Admin as a vote-winner as opposed to how it should have been done - in the Hague with a FULL war crimes trial, like Milosevic....

 

And you are absolutely correct, if Saddam gets a death sentence for murdering a few dozen Iraqis (and I'm leaving aside all the instances of crimes against the Kurds, Shi'ites and Marsh Arabs, because he was NOT charged with any crimes pertaining to other, vastly more brutal massacres, which is essentially my whole point really...) then Bush and B-Liar should certainly receive one for murdering 20-odd THOUSAND......

 

But Bush and Blair are not subject to the same lawas as Hussein, since they´re american/british respectively. If any normal Iraqi citizen can be sentenced to death, then it´s only fair that the major bast*rd can receive the same sentence.

But Bush and Blair are not subject to the same lawas as Hussein, since they´re american/british respectively. If any normal Iraqi citizen can be sentenced to death, then it´s only fair that the major bast*rd can receive the same sentence.

 

...so you'll be campaigning to ensure Blair is given a full-term life sentence for HIS crimes against innocent civilians in Iraq, I presume?

...so you'll be campaigning to ensure Blair is given a full-term life sentence for HIS crimes against innocent civilians in Iraq, I presume?

 

One thing has nothing to do with the other. A murderer don´t become inocent because there is another murder. Otherwise, no other criminal could be senteced ever...

well that was a surprise verdict, never saw that one coming :mellow:

 

mind you if he had been tried in the UK, he would have got off on a technicality or community service ;)

But Bush and Blair are not subject to the same lawas as Hussein, since they´re american/british respectively. If any normal Iraqi citizen can be sentenced to death, then it´s only fair that the major bast*rd can receive the same sentence.

 

Excuse me, Bush and B-Liar committed crimes against THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ!!!! ie, murdering about 20-odd thousand of Iraq's civilians under the ridiculous pretexts of WMDS - they lied to the people of the world, they chose to believe Iraqi dissidents and self-serving political opponents of the Saddam regime, who themselves wanted to grab power, instead of the UN weapons inspection team who told them they needed more time, because it was politically expedient to do so. They went into Iraq WITHOUT a UN mandate ILLEGALLY, and slaughtered thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians in a single sweep of detestable 'shock and awe' tactics.... They murdered more Iraqis than Saddam ever did, they caused untold destruction and catastrophic socio-economic consequences to the Iraqi people, and you dont believe these b/astards should be held accountable for that in an Iraqi court of law????? Those crimes were committed IN IRAQ, upon IRAQIS.....

 

I am so fukkin' angry at your blatant lack of knowlege on such a simple issue - Bush and B-Liar committed acts of terror on a SOVEREIGN STATE, just like Bin Laden did on 9/11.... What the FUKK is the difference.......?

 

Or is that WE are somehow right to do so because WE are white, western and 'democratic' and WE know what's fukkin' best for 'others' and the 'others' are Arab, 'uncivilised', Muslim, un-democratic and they just need to 'learn'....?

And you are absolutely correct, if Saddam gets a death sentence for murdering a few dozen Iraqis (and I'm leaving aside all the instances of crimes against the Kurds, Shi'ites and Marsh Arabs, because he was NOT charged with any crimes pertaining to other, vastly more brutal massacres, which is essentially my whole point really...) then Bush and B-Liar should certainly receive one for murdering 20-odd THOUSAND......

 

Actually, Saddam has been charged with the murder of approximately 180,000 Kurds in the gassings, and that trial has been running concurrently with this one. There's another trial ongoing too, relating to another set of murders of his own people. This one reached a verdict before the others, and if he was to be hanged quickly, the other trials would be terminated, which I'm against. I'm against the death penalty anyway, although I wouldn't lose much sleep over Saddam, however, it is essential that there are full, public trials for these other matters.

 

On BBC News today they said the appeal could last up to one and a half years, so unless he dies of natural causes first, these other trials will probably happen. One of his legal team said he might die first, which was a bit odd, but probably just some kind of headline grabbing tactic. I don't approve of the actions of Bush and Blair over the war, but there is no way they even approach Saddam's level of wrong-doing. As well as the mass genocide, he would routinely get staff that disagreed with him taken out and shot and he's proud of this fact.