BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Iraqi authorities plan to put Saddam Hussein on
trial within five days after the Oct. 15 referendum
on the new constitution, an official close to the
proceedings said Thursday.
The official spoke after government spokesman Laith
Kubba announced that Iraq had carried out its first
executions since Saddam was ousted in 2003. Three
men were hanged at 10 a.m. in a Baghdad prison for
murdering three policemen.
U.S. officials scrapped the death penalty in 2003
but Iraqi authorities reinstated it after the
transfer of sovereignty so they would have the
option of executing Saddam if he is convicted of
crimes committed during his regime. |
Former dictator
Saddam Hussein
Photo : AP
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"Saddam's trial will start right after the October
referendum between Oct. 16 and at the latest Oct.
20," the official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to make the
official announcement.
European Union countries have distanced themselves
from legal proceedings against Saddam, refusing to
provide forensic and other assistance, because of
the prospect that Saddam may be put to death.
Iraqi authorities plan a series of trials for
specific alleged offenses rather than lumping them
together. The first trial will focus on the alleged
massacre of hundreds of Shiites in Dujail in 1982
following a failed assassination attempt on Saddam.
Separate trials are expected for the gassing of
Kurds at Halabja and the 1991 suppression of the
Shiite uprising in the south, officials said.
The government announced Aug. 17 that the three men
hanged Thursday had been sentenced to death by a
court in Kut last May. The government statement said
they also were convicted of kidnapping and rape.
"It was a difficult decision because we are living
in a democratic atmosphere," the government
spokesman said. "This is the highest punishment
taken against people who have conducted
assassinations, and it aims at deterring criminals
from going too far in their crimes."
Iraqi officials say about seven other people,
including one woman, have been sentenced to death.
Their cases are under review or appeal.
Death sentences must be approved by the three-member
presidential council headed by President Jalal
Talabani, who opposes capital punishment. Talabani
refused to sign the authorization himself but his
office said he let one of his vice presidents, Adil
Abdul-Mahdi, do so for him.
AP
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