Execution of Saddam Hussein

The execution of Saddam Hussein in 2006 marked a dramatic end to the reign of a figure who dominated Iraqi politics for decades and cast a long shadow over the Middle East. It was the culmination of a trial for crimes against humanity, specifically the brutal Dujail massacre. Yet, the manner of his death sparked global debate, raising questions about justice, dignity, and the future of Iraq itself. Saddam Hussein's execution was carried out on December 30, 2006, after his conviction for crimes against humanity related to the Dujail massacre. The official video of the execution was overshadowed by a leaked mobile phone recording, revealing taunts and defiance in Saddam's final moments, igniting widespread controversy. International legal and political reactions were deeply divided, with some condemning the process as flawed while others defended the Iraqi court's efforts towards justice.

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AI Summary

The execution of Saddam Hussein in 2006 marked a dramatic end to the reign of a figure who dominated Iraqi politics for decades and cast a long shadow over the Middle East. It was the culmination of a trial for crimes against humanity, specifically the brutal Dujail massacre. Yet, the manner of his death sparked global debate, raising questions about justice, dignity, and the future of Iraq itself.

The Final Judgment

On December 30, 2006, the world watched as Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former president, met his end. He had been sentenced to death by hanging, a stark conclusion to a trial that gripped international attention.

The charges were grave: crimes against humanity. Specifically, he was convicted for his role in the Dujail massacre of 1982, an act of brutal retaliation that saw 148 Iraqi Shi'ites killed after an assassination attempt on his life.

A Nation Divided: The Execution Footage

The Iraqi government released an official video, carefully edited, showing Saddam being led to the gallows, the noose placed around his neck. It aimed to convey a sense of solemn justice.

However, a clandestine mobile phone recording soon surfaced, offering a far more raw and controversial account. It captured the former dictator surrounded by a contingent of his countrymen, who jeered and invoked the name of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

This leaked footage, showing Saddam's fall through the trap door, sparked immediate global outrage and deepened the already profound divisions within Iraq itself.

Saddam's Last Days

Before his execution, Saddam Hussein made a final request: to be executed by firing squad, not hanging. He argued this was the lawful military capital punishment, befitting his former role as commander-in-chief.

The court, however, denied this appeal, insisting on the sentence as delivered. This refusal underscored the complete shift in his power and status.

Two days prior, a letter attributed to Saddam appeared online. In it, he urged the Iraqi people to unite and to direct their anger not at the nations that invaded Iraq, like the United States, but at their decision-makers.

He declared his readiness to die as a martyr, asserting that he was at peace with his death sentence. It was a final, defiant message from a leader who had never truly conceded defeat.

Hours before his execution, Saddam ate what would be his last meal: a simple plate of chicken and rice, accompanied by a cup of hot water with honey.

The Execution

The execution took place around 5:50 AM (UTC+03:00) on December 30, 2006, coinciding with the first day of Eid al-Adha, a major Islamic festival. This timing itself became a point of contention.

The site was Camp Justice in Kazimain, a suburb of Baghdad, a joint Iraqi-U.S. military base. Contrary to some initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, his co-defendants following weeks and years later.

Iraqi officials revealed that American forces initially sought a 15-day delay, but the Iraqi Prime Minister's insistence ultimately prevailed. U.S. military spokesmen later stated they had no direct involvement in the execution itself once Saddam was in Iraqi custody.

Final Words and Defiance

Witnesses described a range of emotions from Saddam in his final moments. Some noted him as submissive, clutching a Quran he had carried throughout his trial, while others described him as defiant and even scornful.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie, a witness, recalled Saddam repeatedly shouting, "Down with the invaders!" When asked if he felt remorse or fear, Saddam reportedly replied, "No, I am a militant and I have no fear for myself. I have spent my life in jihad and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route should not be afraid."

Amidst the preparations, Saddam shouted, "Allahu Akbar! The Muslim Ummah will be victorious and Palestine is Arab!" As the rope was secured, guards reportedly taunted him with "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" a reference to the Shia cleric.

Saddam, in turn, mocked their shouts, asking, "Do you consider this bravery?" The room became a tense exchange of sectarian chants, with some reciting a Shia version of an Islamic prayer while Saddam recited a Sunni version.

To one masked guard who accused him of destroying Iraq, Saddam shot back, "I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persians and Americans."

Saddam began reciting the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith, twice. He was interrupted mid-sentence during his second recitation as the trapdoor sprang open. His last audible word was "Muhammad."

An audible crack confirmed his neck had broken. After a few minutes, a doctor confirmed no heartbeat, the rope was cut, and Saddam Hussein's body was placed into a coffin, declared dead at 6:03 AM.

Aftermath and Legacy

A controversial claim emerged later from Talal Misrab, the head guard at Saddam's tomb, who stated Saddam had been stabbed six times post-execution. However, this was vehemently denied by Saddam's tribal head and Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who oversaw the process.

Saddam's body was transported by U.S. military helicopter to his birthplace of Al-Awja near Tikrit, where he was buried near his sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein. His grave was within an octagonal, domed building he had built for religious festivals.

Years later, during the conflict with Islamic State militants, the tomb was destroyed. Reportedly, a Sunni tribal group had removed Saddam's body beforehand, preventing its desecration or further capture.

Media and Public Reaction

State-run Iraqi television, Al Iraqiya, was the primary news source, announcing the hanging of "the criminal Saddam" and declaring it the end of a "dark period of Iraq's history." Major networks worldwide carried official footage and images of his shrouded body.

The unauthorized mobile phone video, however, offered a stark contrast to the official narrative. Its raw nature and the audible taunts, along with Saddam's defiant reply of "goddamn you," painted a picture of a chaotic and undignified end.

The Iraqi government swiftly investigated the leak, arresting a guard believed to be responsible for recording the footage that had spread rapidly across the internet, highlighting the immediate political sensitivity of the event.

Global Response

Reactions worldwide were intensely varied. Saddam's supporters condemned it as unjust, while many critics of capital punishment, even those who approved his conviction, raised concerns about the execution itself.

Tragically, the extensive media coverage, particularly the graphic images, led to a disturbing phenomenon of copycat hangings, with several children and teenagers in different countries dying while reportedly imitating the televised execution.

The Legal Debate

Human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International strongly criticized the execution, citing a "flawed trial" and opposing the death penalty, especially when imposed after an unfair process.

Saddam's defense lawyers called the trial a "flagrant violation of international law" and characterized the execution as a "political assassination," arguing it set back international criminal law by decades.

Article

Execution of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, was executed on 30 December 2006. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the Dujail massacre—the killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail, in 1982, in retaliation for a purported assassination attempt on Saddam.

The Iraqi government released an official video of his execution, showing him being led to the gallows, and ending after the hangman's noose was placed over his head. International public controversy arose when a mobile phone recording of the hanging showed him surrounded by a contingent of his countrymen, who jeered him in Arabic and praised the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and his subsequent fall through the trap door of the gallows.

Saddam's body was returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja, near Tikrit, on 31 December and was buried near the graves of other family members.

Background

Execution of Saddam Hussein

After being sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, Saddam asked to be executed by firing squad instead of hanging, claiming it as the lawful military capital punishment and citing his former position of commander-in-chief of the Iraqi military. This request was denied by the court. Two days before the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party website. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to unite, and not to hate the people of countries that invaded Iraq, like the United States, but instead the decision-makers. He said he was ready to die as a martyr and that he was at peace with his death sentence. Hours before the execution, Saddam ate his last meal, of chicken and rice with a cup of hot water with honey.

Execution

Time and place

Saddam was executed by hanging about 05:50 UTC +03:00 on the first day of Eid al-Adha (30 December 2006). Reports conflicted as to the exact time of the execution, with some sources reporting the time as 06:00, 06:05, or some as late as 06:10.

The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-U.S. military base Camp Justice, in Kazimain, a north-eastern suburb of Baghdad. Contrary to initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, not at the same time as his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who were executed on 15 January 2007. Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid was also sentenced to death and was hanged on 25 January 2010.

Proceedings

A senior Iraqi official who was involved in the events leading to Saddam's demise was quoted as saying, "The Americans wanted to delay the execution by 15 days because they weren't keen on having him executed right away, but during the day [before the execution] the prime minister's office provided all the documents they asked for and the Americans changed their minds when they saw the prime minister was very insistent. Then it was just a case of finalizing the details." U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told journalists in Baghdad that after "physical control" of Saddam was given to the Iraqi government, "the multinational force had absolutely no direct involvement with [the execution] whatsoever." There were no U.S. representatives present in the execution chamber.

Reports circulated that Saddam's behavior was "submissive" and that he was carrying the Qur'an he had been keeping with him throughout his trial before his execution. Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who was a witness to Saddam's execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with the invaders". Al-Rubaie reportedly asked Saddam if he had any remorse or fear, to which Saddam replied:

No, I am a militant and I have no fear for myself. I have spent my life in jihad and fighting aggression. Anyone who takes this route should not be afraid.

Some witnesses described Saddam as appearing "broken and weak" yet "unrepentant" before his hanging. Other witnesses described Saddam as calm and defiant yet scornful with his captors. Sami al-Askari, a witness to the execution, said, "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted, 'Allahu Akbar. The Muslim Ummah will be victorious and Palestine is Arab!'" Saddam also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the American invaders. After the rope was secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" in reference to Muqtada al-Sadr; Saddam laughed, repeating the name mockingly and rebuked the shouts stating, "Do you consider this bravery?" A Shi'a version of an Islamic prayer was recited by some of those present in the room while Saddam recited a Sunni version of an Islamic prayer. One observer told Saddam:

In response to the heckling of one of the masked guards (the man who said "You have destroyed us, you have killed us. You have made us live in destitution!"), Saddam replied: "I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persians and Americans."

The deputy prosecutor, Munqith al-Faroun, responded to hecklers, stating,

Saddam began to recite the Shahada twice. Before finishing his second recitation, the trapdoor sprang. His last word was, "Muhammad." According to The New York Times, the executioners "cheer their Shi'ite heroes so persistently that one observer [in the execution chambers] makes a remark about how the effort to rein in militias does not seem to be going well." An observer shouted "The tyrant has fallen!" During the drop, there was an audible crack, indicating that Saddam's neck was broken. After Saddam was suspended for a few minutes, the doctor present listened with a stethoscope for a heartbeat. After he detected nothing, the rope was cut, and the body was placed in a coffin. Saddam was confirmed dead at 06:03.

Postmortem stabbings

According to Talal Misrab, the head guard at Saddam's tomb, who also helped in the burial, Saddam was stabbed six times after he was executed. The head of Saddam's tribe, Sheikh Hasan al-Neda, denies this claim. Mowaffak al-Rubaie stated, "I oversaw the whole process from A–Z and Saddam Hussein's body was not stabbed or mutilated, and he was not humiliated before execution."

Burial

Execution of Saddam Hussein

Saddam's body was buried in his birthplace of Al-Awja in Tikrit, Iraq, near family members, including his two sons Uday and Qusay Hussein, on 31 December 2006 at 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT). His body was transported to Tikrit by a U.S. military helicopter, where he was handed over from Iraqi government possession to Sheikh Ali al-Nida, the late head of the Albu Nasir tribe and governor of Saladin. He was buried about three kilometers (2 mi) from his two sons' bodies, in the same extensive cemetery. Saddam's grave, in a family plot, was dug into the floor of an octagonal, domed building he had ordered the construction of in the 1980s for religious festivals at the site.

Saddam's eldest daughter Raghad, under asylum in Jordan, had asked that "his body be buried in Yemen temporarily until Iraq is liberated and it can be reburied in Iraq", a family spokesperson said by telephone. The family also said his body might be buried in Ramadi, citing safety concerns, though there are no plans to do this. The tomb where Saddam's body was buried was later destroyed during fighting between Islamic State militants and Iraqi forces. Saddam's body had reportedly been removed by a Sunni tribal group before the tomb's destruction.

Media coverage

Execution of Saddam Hussein

The primary news source for the execution was the state-run Iraqi television news station Al Iraqiya, whose announcer said that the "criminal Saddam was hanged to death". A scrolling headline read, "Saddam's execution marks the end of a dark period of Iraq's history". Al Arabiya reported that Saddam's lawyer had confirmed Saddam's death.

Major news networks carried official video of the moments leading up to Saddam's execution. The Iraqi government also released pictures of Saddam's dead body in a shroud.

Mobile phone video

Official video of the event stopped short of showing the moment of hanging. A low-quality, amateur video shot on a mobile phone from a staircase leading to the gallows surfaced and showed the entire hanging. The amateur video, unlike the official video, included the sound of witnesses taunting Saddam at the gallows, to which the former president replied "goddamn you."

On 3 January 2007, the Iraqi government arrested the guard who they believed made the mobile-phone video, which had spread across the Internet. Mowaffak al-Rubaie later held a press conference, where he announced that three arrests had been made in connection with the investigation into the video recording and leak.

Reaction

Execution of Saddam Hussein

Reactions to the execution were varied. Criticism came both from Saddam's supporters, who believed it was unjust, and non-supporters, who either wanted additional judgement regarding other crimes besides those he was convicted for and those who approved of his conviction but not of capital punishment. Some supporters considered him a martyr.

Copycat hangings

There were reports of copycat deaths influenced by the media coverage. Sergio Pelico, a 10-year-old boy in Webster, Texas, United States, hanged himself in his bedroom. His mother stated that the boy had previously watched a news report about Saddam's execution and decided to hang himself as a form of experimentation. In Multan, Pakistan, a 9-year-old boy also died apparently copying the televised execution; his 10-year-old sister assisted with the hanging. A 15-year-old girl from Kolkata, India, was reported to have hanged herself after becoming extremely depressed by watching the execution. Copycat hangings were blamed for the deaths of seven people worldwide.

Legality

Execution of Saddam Hussein

Human Rights Watch issued a statement that the "execution follows a flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the rule of law in Iraq". Amnesty International issued a statement that it "opposed the death penalty in all circumstances but it was especially egregious when this ultimate punishment is imposed after an unfair trial". Two days before the execution, the International Federation of Human Rights released a statement calling upon the head of state to issue a moratorium on the death sentence pronounced against Saddam by hanging. The organization also said Saddam should be treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions. Lawyers for Saddam called the trial "a flagrant violation of international law" and plan to continue "using all legal paths available locally and internationally until public opinion gets the truth about this political assassination". In a separate statement, Saddam's American defense lawyer called the execution "an unfortunate display of arrogant aggressor's justice by the United States of America under the leadership of American President George W. Bush. It sets back achievements in international criminal law many decades and sends a clear message to people all over the world that the United States' aggression cannot be stopped by the law. It is truly a sad day for international justice and sad beginning to a new year." Juan Cole said that the execution might lead to more sectarian turmoil. "The trial and execution of Saddam were about revenge, not justice. Instead of promoting national reconciliation, this act of revenge helped Saddam portray himself one last time as a symbol of Sunni Arab resistance, and became one more incitement to sectarian warfare", he said.

However, other legal experts disagreed with these assertions and claims. Miranda Sissons, at the time an independent observer of the trial and a senior associate at the International Center for Transitional Justice, stated, "This was not a sham trial", and added the Iraqi judges presiding over the trial did "their best to try this case to an entirely new standard for Iraq". Jonathan Drimmer, winner of the first U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Award for Human Rights Law Enforcement and a teacher at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., when asked if the trial met the standards of international justice said, "The answer is no. But to look at the ultimate verdict, it certainly is consistent with the evidence presented", and further added the trial was both "a transparent proceeding" and "a major step for Iraq". Michael Scharf, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law at the time, who also advised the Iraqi tribunal during the trial, responding to accusations by Saddam's defense team stated, "The U.S. government was not the puppet master of this tribunal" and added, "Saddam was convicted on the strength of his own documents", referring to documents signed by Saddam himself approving execution orders.

Perception of the Iraqi government

Execution of Saddam Hussein

After the leaking of mobile phone footage of Saddam Hussein's execution, along with the detention on 3 January 2007, of a guard under the Justice Ministry headed by Sunni Iraqi minister Hashim Abderrahman al-Shibli, suspicions have arisen that the ministry may have intended to inflame sectarian tensions. In an interview with La Repubblica on 19 January 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr said that the people who were in the room during execution were "people paid to discredit him" and the purpose of the unofficial video was to "make Muqtada look like the real enemy of the Sunnis".

U.S. President George W. Bush mentioned on 4 January 2007 that he wished that the execution "had gone on in a more dignified way". Bush later stated, in a 16 January 2007 interview with U.S. television host Jim Lehrer, that Saddam's execution "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing". Bush said he was "disappointed and felt like they fumbled the Saddam Hussein execution. It reinforced doubts in people's minds that the Maliki government and the unity government of Iraq is a serious government. And it sent a mixed signal to the American people and the people around the world."