January 9, 2007
A new video showing former Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein after his execution has appeared on the
internet. In it Saddam Hussein's body can be seen
lying on a hospital trolley, his throat red from a
gaping neck wound and head twisted sharply to one
side.
The unofficial footage appears to have been filmed
on a mobile phone, as happened with an earlier
illicit video which showed the entire hanging.
Correspondents say it is likely to fuel anger over
how the execution was done.
Voices
The new footage shows a shrouded body lying on a
trolley - possibly in a morgue or hospital - as
several people walk past, though only their legs are
shown.
The person carrying the camera then lifts the sheet
to reveal Saddam Hussein's head.
It is twisted at an angle of 90 degrees to his
shoulders and clearly visible on his throat, just
beneath the jaw line, is a vivid, circular wound
about three centimetres wide - injuries which could
have been caused by hanging.
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New unofficial video of Saddam body after his
execution on the Internet
The New Saddam unofficial VIDEO after his execution
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His cheek is slightly flecked with blood and looks
bruised, and there is blood on the shroud.
Several voices, apparently those of the people
making the video, can be heard during the 27-second
clip.
As the shroud is pulled back to reveal Saddam
Hussein's face someone says "Hurry up, hurry up. I'm
going to count from one to four".
Another speaker says "Abu Ali, you take care of
this."
The first man appears to be in charge, having just
allowed a second man to enter the room with a video
camera, which he may have mistaken for a still
camera:
Man 1: "Quickly, quickly please, take one picture."
Man 2: "Yes, I hear you."
Man 1 (raising his voice when the video continues
longer than a still shot would have required): "Come
on, what's the matter?"
Man 2: "I hear you, I hear you."
Man 1 (to a third man): "Abu Ali, come on and deal
with this."
Man 1 (apparently irritated over the length of time
Man 2 is taking): "Come on, habibi ... I'll say this
one time politely otherwise I'm going to get real
angry."
Man 2: "I hear you."
Habibi is a term of endearment used by men for each
other.
The video is the second related to the hanging,
which took place December 30.
'Martyr' status
The footage first surfaced on an Arabic website
known to support Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath
Party, under a headline reading "A new film of the
late immortal martyr, President Saddam Hussein".
Although the injuries visible on Saddam Hussein's
body are consistent with hanging, the BBC's Oliver
Conway says that the fact that the video could have
been made at all is likely to further fuel anger
over the handling of the execution.
There was outrage among Iraq's Sunni community after
an earlier unofficial video emerged which showed
Saddam Hussein being taunted on the gallows by his
Shia executioners right up until the moment of
death.
There was similar revulsion around the world, with
many leaders condemning the way in which the
sentence was carried out.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the secret
footage had turned the former leader into a martyr.
The secret video was in stark contrast to the silent
official video released within hours of the
execution which painted a picture of a relative calm
and dignity in Saddam Hussein's final moments.
BBC | Reuters | CNN
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