 | 
12-29-2006, 05:30 PM
|  | MODERATOR BY DAY / NINJA BY NIGHT GCB Senior Citizen | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: A Padded Cell
Posts: 2,918
Rep Power: 50 | | | BON VOYAGE,SADDAM
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - As he awaits his final hour in a dreary, U.S. military-run prison down the street from one of his former palaces, confusion and secrecy shroud when and how Saddam Hussein will be hanged.
A court this week upheld a sentence that the man who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for three decades until the 2003 U.S.-led invasion be sent to the gallows for crimes against humanity.
But speculation over the timing of the historic execution is flying thick and fast amid conflicting reports about Saddam's transfer to Iraqi authorities for his hanging.
As Iraq prepared to start a week-long religious holiday on Saturday that should halt executions under Iraq law, U.S.-backed al Hurra television quoted unnamed sources as saying workers were busy erecting gallows in the Green Zone by the Tigris.
A U.S. official in Baghdad late on Friday shot down reports that the U.S. military had handed the former president, saying: "He is still in U.S. custody."
Although legally in Iraqi custody, U.S. troops have kept guard over Saddam and are expected to hold on to him until the last minute to avoid security breaches.
Defense lawyers fueled speculation when they said they had been told to collect Saddam's belongings and that Saddam was allowed a visit by his brothers on Thursday -- a right a condemned man has before he is hanged.
Another defense lawyer said prison guards had taken away a small radio Saddam had been given several months ago and that the former strongman had sensed "something was happening."
FINAL LAST WORDS?
Saddam, who has said he is not afraid to die, was reported by his lawyer to be in "very high spirits" as he awaits his appointment with the hangman at the U.S. army's Camp Cropper at what was once Baghdad's Saddam International Airport.
The prison is down the street from a lavish palace Saddam built on an artificial lake which is now used as headquarters by U.S. generals.
Not only the date, but the hour of the hanging is a mystery. Executions since the death penalty was reinstated in Iraq have taken place at dawn but there is also speculation Saddam's could be at noon, or rushed through at any time. A Shi'ite politician said religious authorities were reviewing the case.
In court, Saddam has appeared wearing a white shirt and dark suit, his hair neatly trimmed and dyed black, a far cry from his disheveled appearance when he was captured by U.S. troops in December 2003, hiding in a hole near Tikrit.
If he is treated like other convicts, he could be hooded and dressed in green overalls with his hands bound behind his back.
Under Iraq's penal code, Saddam, who used his court appearances to launch bombastic attacks against his enemies, will be allowed to make a final statement if he wishes.
While a public execution is unlikely, Iraqis are likely to want proof that he is really dead, as when U.S. forces published graphic images of his dead sons and showed the bodies to journalists after they were killed in July 2003. |
12-29-2006, 05:39 PM
|  | (((ThatGirl))) Screamo for Emo | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Posts: 228
Rep Power: 49 | | 
His wives may argue he's already hung. Sorry, couldn't help it...
__________________
It is who we become that changes the world and our environment, not what we do.
John Whitehouse
May 4 1960 - January 28 2008 |
12-30-2006, 11:24 AM
|  | Band Member GCB Senior Citizen | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Escatawpa, MS Age: 29
Posts: 2,644
Rep Power: 51 | | | Well they killed him yestereday. |
12-30-2006, 04:58 PM
| | (((ThatGirl))) Screamo for Emo | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Posts: 228
Rep Power: 49 | |
__________________
It is who we become that changes the world and our environment, not what we do.
John Whitehouse
May 4 1960 - January 28 2008 |
12-30-2006, 05:19 PM
| | Band Member Band Whore | | Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 734
Rep Power: 49 | | | "Knock, Knock"
"Who's There?"
"Not Saddam Hussein!" |
01-05-2007, 12:39 PM
| | MODERATOR BY DAY / NINJA BY NIGHT GCB Senior Citizen | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: A Padded Cell
Posts: 2,918
Rep Power: 50 | | | I STILL HAVE A 5.56mm ROUND WITH HIS NAME ON IT FROM "91",TOO BAD I'LL NEVER GET TO USE IT. |
01-05-2007, 05:17 PM
|  | Agent Jones, at your service. GCB Senior Citizen | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 2,442
Rep Power: 37 | | | my little story
I got to cause him some level of discomfort...
i drew blood from him, tried to start an iv (but he was too emaciated), did an ekg........he had gallstones.
they made us all sign papers saying we'd never talk about it (yawns).
once we found out he wasn't having a heart-attack, D. Rumsfeild called and spoke with our head Doc and within like 30 seconds there were about a dozen choppers hovering around our little tent.
crazy shit. |
01-08-2007, 11:49 AM
| | MODERATOR BY DAY / NINJA BY NIGHT GCB Senior Citizen | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: A Padded Cell
Posts: 2,918
Rep Power: 50 | | | IRAQI COURT DROPS GENOCIDE CHARGES AGAINST SADDAM,(lIKE IT MATTERS NOW)
Saddam Hussein's trial for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s resumed today nine days after the late dictator went to the gallows.
The court's first order of business was to drop all charges against Saddam.
Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.
Shortly after the court reconvened, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another.
Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa said the court decided to stop all legal action against the former president, since "the death of defendant Saddam was confirmed".
All seven defendants in the Anfal case, including Saddam, had pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Saddam and one other man also pleaded innocent to the additional charge of genocide.
Saddam was sentenced to death for the killing of 148 Shias and hanged on December 30th in a chaotic execution that has drawn global criticism for the Shia-dominated government. An illicit video from inside the former leader's execution chamber showed him being taunted on the gallows.
Human Rights Watch said Saddam's speedy execution illustrated the Iraqi government's disregard for human rights, and urged Iraqi officials to halt two upcoming hangings.
Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim, and former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, Awad Hamed al-Bandar, were sentenced to death after being convicted along with Saddam of involvement in the killings in the town of Dujail after a 1982 assassination attempt there against Saddam.
Their executions were postponed until after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which ended six days ago.
They are expected to be executed in the coming days. | |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is On | | |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:30 PM.
|  |
|
