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Saddam's deputy hanged
20/03/2007 07:11 - (SA)
Baghdad - Saddam Hussein's former deputy was hanged before dawn on Tuesday for his part in the killings of 148 Shi'ites, despite appeals from international human rights groups.
Taha Yassin Ramadan, who was Saddam's vice-president when the regime was ousted nearly four years ago, was the fourth man to be executed for the killings which followed a 1982 assassination attempt against the former leader in the town of Dujail north of Baghdad.
An official with the prime minister's office who witnessed the hanging said precautions were taken to prevent a repeat of what happened to Saddam's half brother and co-defendant Barzan Ibrahim, who was inadvertently decapitated on the gallows during his January execution.
Ramadan, who was nearly 70, was weighed before the hanging and the length of the rope was chosen accordingly, the official said.
The execution took place at a prison at an Iraqi army and police base, which had been the headquarters of Saddam's military intelligence, in a predominantly Shi'ite district in northern Baghdad.
Ramadan had been in US custody but was handed over to the Iraqis about an hour before the hanging, the official said.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has not attended any of the executions, but a committee made up of officials from his office, a judge and a prosecutor attended the hanging, along with representatives of the justice and interior ministries and a physician.
The prosecutor read out the verdict of the appeals court upholding the death sentence along with al-Maliki's decision to carry it out, the official said, adding that a defence lawyer who attended the execution received Ramadan's written will. The contents were not revealed.
Remorse
Ramadan appeared frightened and said words that indicated he was remorseful, the official said, although he was not more specific.
"He recited the two shahadahs. The execution was flawless," the official said, adding that the hanging was videotaped for official purposes. The two shahadas are the declaration of faith repeated by Muslims - "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet."
Ramadan was convicted in November of murder, forced deportation and torture and sentenced to life in prison. A month later, the appeals court said the sentence was too lenient, and returned his case to the High Tribunal, demanding he be sentenced to death. The court agreed to turn it to a death sentence.
Ramadan, who became vice president in March 1991 and was a Revolutionary Command Council member - Iraq's highest political body under Saddam - maintained his innocence, saying his duties were limited to economic affairs, not security issues.
Human Rights Watch and the International Centre for Transitional Justice have said the evidence against him was insufficient for the death penalty.
- AP
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