As day broke on one of the holiest dates of the Muslim year, and after more than two years of being held in custody by U.S. forces at Camp Cropper in Baghdad, Iraq's deposed leader Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn Saturday at a Justice Ministry facility in northern Baghdad for crimes against humanity.
"It was very quick. He died right away," one of the Iraqi officials who witnessed the execution told Reuters news agency.
Describing the execution of the former President, who was sentenced to death on Nov. 5 after he was convicted of crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shia villagers in the town of Dujail, Sami al-Askari, a political ally of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told Reuters "We heard his neck snap."
State television plans to air footage of the hanging.
The first trial of the former Iraqi leader began in October 2005 before the Iraqi Special Tribunal. Saddam and seven other defendants were tried for allegations of crimes against humanity with regard to events that took place following a failed attempt to assassinate the former leader in Dujail in 1982.
"He seemed very calm. He did not tremble," one senior witness to the execution told Reuters.
Bound and shackled with his face uncovered, Saddam recited a brief prayer as he was taken by the guards to the execution room and had the noose put around his neck.
He then recited the Muslim profession of faith "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet" before being taken to the scaffold.
Rushed execution
Responding to reports of the impending execution of Saddam, Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International, issued a statement saying:
"Amnesty International has long documented the massive human rights abuses carried out under Saddam Hussein's rule. The organization has consistently called for Hussein to be held accountable through fair trial proceedings, and strongly contests that his execution symbolizes justice served.
"The rushed execution of Saddam Hussein is simply wrong. It signifies justice denied for countless victims who endured unspeakable suffering during his regime, and now have been denied their right to see justice served. It is a failed opportunity to establish the rule of law in Iraq, and raises concerns that egregious flaws during Hussein's trial proceedings will now set a strong precedent against a fair and independent judiciary. It will doubtless have a devastating impact on other related trials, as the key witness who could most compellingly shed light on the chain of command will have been silenced. Finally, Amnesty International opposes the death penalty, regardless of method, in all cases, and regards it as the ultimate, irreversible human rights abuse.
"Amnesty International is concerned that Hussein's execution may inflame already volatile sectarian divisions, and urges all parties to protect the human rights of civilians in Iraq."
Trial seriously flawed
Numerous Human rights experts raised concerns over Saddam’s trial which they said has been seriously flawed and his detention which they labeled as illegal, urging the Iraqi government not to hang the toppled president.
UN human rights experts asked the Iraqi government last month not to carry out the death sentence imposed on the toppled president.
A United Nations working group on arbitrary detention said in a statement that the Iraqi tribunal lacked independence and impartiality, didn’t give the former leader enough time to prepare his defense, restricted his access to lawyers and denied him the right to call his own witnesses.
Therefore, Saddam’s detention is "arbitrary," said the panel, made up of five independent legal and human rights experts who report to the UN Human Rights Council.
The UN group also said that the Dujail trial didn’t meet “international standards” because it violated provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - a binding international treaty and cornerstone of human rights law - to which both Iraq and the United States are parties.
"The working group also urges the Iraqi government to refrain from carrying out the sentence of death by hanging imposed in a proceeding, which does not meet applicable basic standards of a fair trial," the statement said.
Although the working group stated clearly that it wasn’t calling for Saddam's release, it said that U.S. and Iraqi authorities must redress the “serious procedural shortcomings”.
It also recommended that “the situation of Saddam be brought in conformity with the principles of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
-- AJP and Agencies