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)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
Rick Halperin Thu, 4 Jan 2007 20:26:15 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide Rick Halperin