Saddam Hussein Sentenced to Death (2006)
On November 5, 2006, Saddam Hussein, former long-standing president and dictator of Iraq, was convicted for crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. In particular, Hussein was sentenced to death before an Iraqi judge for killing 148 Shi’ites in Dujail, Iraq in 1982, after they had attempted to assassinate Hussein.
Hussein rose to power in Iraq in 1968 through a military coup that overthrew the former ruler. Hussein acted as a member of the Ba’ath Party and became President of Iraq in 1979. He ruled the country as a dictator and has been accused of killing tens to hundreds of thousands of minority Shi’ites and Kurds in the 1980s and 1990s.
Coalition Forces, led by the United States, declared war on Iraq in March 2003 and captured Hussein about nine months later. In particular, on December 14, 2003, Coalition Forces captured Hussein hiding in an underground hole next to a farm building in Adwar, about ten miles from his former hometown of Tikrit. Hussein was handed over to the Iraqi people through the assistance of Coalition Forces and shortly thereafter charged with crimes against humanity.
Hussein’s trial was far from flawless. In fact, the trial faced many problems. The first three defense counsels for Hussein were assassinated and the fourth defense counsel fled the country. The first judge assigned to the trial, Rizgar Amin, resigned due to complaints about government interference. And the trial faced many other interruptions and security issues. In fact, former U.S. Attorney General, Ramsey Clark, called the trial a “travesty.”
Finally, on this day, November 5, 2006, Hussein was brought into court before the presiding Judge, Rauf Abdel Rahman. Judge Rahman ordered Hussein to stand while he read the verdict, but Hussein refused to do. So, Rahman ordered his court staff to physically move Hussein from his seat to stand for the verdict. As Rahman began to read the guilty verdict, Hussein acted out and shouted over the judge, “Long live Iraq! Long live the Iraqi people! Down with the traitors!”
Hussein was sentenced with other co-defendants, including his half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Iraq’s former chief judge, Awad Hamed al-Bandar, both of which also received the death penalty. U.S. President George W. Bush called the verdict a "milestone" and applauded the Iraqi people’s efforts in replacing Hussein with the rule of law.
Hussein’s trial was likely one of the most publicized trials of its kind since the Nuremberg tribunals against members of the Nazi Party for its killing of six million Jews during World War II.
Hussein was executed on December 30, 2006.