Saddam a martyr - lawyers

2006-12-30 14:48

Amman - Lawyers for Iraqi ex-president Saddam Hussein said his execution on Saturday was a "political assassination" and that the former leader died "a martyr", according to a statement.

"President Saddam Hussein died a martyr... faced with the power and injustice of those who stole his rights from him as well as those of his own defence," said the statement.

"The martyr chose his martyr path voluntarily and consciously to highlight that the struggle between law and power would not end here," it said.

"The defence team will not close the book on this matter and will pursue its struggle, using all legal paths available locally and internationally until public opinion gets the truth about this political assassination."

The lawyers repeated their assertions that the trial was a "masquerade" and "a flagrant violation of international law".

Saddam "will remain a symbol for all those who fight against law by force ... and he is now in Paradise, God willing," said the statement.

Saddam was executed on Saturday after being convicted of crimes against humanity for the killings of 148 Shi'ite villagers from the town of Dujail in 1982.

Meanwhile, several hundred Iraqis in Tikrit, the ousted leader's home town, demonstrated against his execution.

The protesters gathered in front of the Saddam Mosque in the middle of Tikrit, 180km north of Baghdad, crying out pro-Saddam mottos.

They called on the Iraqi government to hand Saddam's body to his family.

Imposed curfew

Police forces did not interfere in the demonstration.

Iraqi authorities earlier imposed a four-day curfew on Tikrit to avoid any unexpected reactions.

Saddam was executed early on Saturday morning, four days after an Iraqi court upheld the death sentence handed down after he was convicted for the 1982 massacre in the Iraqi city of Dujail. - Sapa/dpa/AFP

- News24