[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 5



IRAQ:

Saddam aides' execution postponed until Sunday


The planned execution of 2 former aides of former Iraqi president Saddam
Hussein has been postponed by 3 days, a Shia lawmaker and an Iraqi
government official both said on Thursday.

Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikrit, Saddams half-brother and former intelligence
chief, and Awad Ahmed Al-Bandar, the head of the revolutionary court, had
been scheduled to be hung on Thursday  after having been found guilty of
crimes against humanity  but the execution was now expected to take place
on Sunday, they confirmed.

A senior official at Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's office said that the
delay had been prompted "due to international pressure."

Bahaa Al-Araji, a lawmaker for Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr's political
group, said he believed the delay would mean that the executions would
take place on the 1st working day after the weekend and the Eidul Azha
holiday.

"As far as I know, the executions will take place on Sunday, if things
stand as they are," Al-Araji said. "I'm not sure about what time, but I
doubt it will be in the same place (as the execution of Saddam)."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour urged Iraq on
Wednesday to refrain from executing the 2 men out of respect for
international law and concerns over the impartiality of the trial.

Meanwhile, officials said that investigators had identified 2 guards who
illicitly filmed Saddam Husseins execution.

"2 Justice Ministry guards have been arrested," Maliki's aide Sami
Al-Askari told Reuters. A prosecutor who attended the execution said he
had seen 2 senior officials filming the hanging, prompting suggestions
that the guards might be used as scapegoats.

Also, the White House urged Iraq to handle the execution of the 2 of
Saddam's aides "with appropriate care." agencies

(source: Daily Times)