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Iraqi court sentences Saddam aide 'Taha
Yassin Ramadan' to death
12.2.2007 |
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February 12, 2007
BAGHDAD, February 12,-- An Iraqi court on Monday
raised the sentence against Saddam Hussein's vice
president to death by hanging for the killings of
Shiites in the town of Dujail.
The decision had been expected after an appeals
court ruled that Taha Yassin Ramadan's previous
sentence of life in prison was too lenient.
Ramadan is the fourth member of the ousted regime to
face capital punishment for the killings of 148
Shiites after a 1982 attempt on Saddam's life in the
mainly Shiite town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.
Saddam, his half brother and former intelligence
chief Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar,
former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, also were
sent to the gallows.
"I swear to God that I'm innocent, Allah is my
supporter and will take revenge on all who treated
me unjustly!" Ramadan yelled after the verdict was
read.
The chief judge, Ali al-Kahachi, ordered him removed
from the courtroom. He said the case would be
automatically appealed.
Ramadan was convicted on Nov. 5 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.
Three other defendants were sentenced to 15 years in
prison in the case; one was acquitted.
Saddam was hanged on Dec. 30, while Ibrahim and
al-Bandar were executed Jan. 15, provoking anger
among their fellow Sunnis after the former leader's
half brother was decapitated on the gallows.
Human Rights Watch and the International Center for
Transitional Justice issued a joint statement on the
eve of Ramadan's hearing saying the evidence against
him was insufficient for a death sentence. |
Flash Video - Kurdistan TV
Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam Hussein's vice president |
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"The tribunal found Ramadan guilty without evidence
linking him to the horrific crimes committed in
Dujail," said Richard Dicker, director of the
International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch.
"Ramadan was convicted in an unfair trial, and
increasing his punishment from life imprisonment to
death reeks of vengeance."
AP
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