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

[Rick Halperin]

Mar. 20




IRAQ----execution

Saddam's Former Deputy Hanged in IraqSaddam Hussein's Former Deputy Hanged
for the Killings of 148 Shiites


Saddam Hussein's former deputy was hanged before dawn Tuesday for the
killings of 148 Shiites, an official with the prime minister's office
said.

Taha Yassin Ramadan, who was Saddam's vice president when the regime was
ousted 4 years ago, was the 4th man to be executed in the killings of 148
Shiites following a 1982 assassination attempt against the former leader
in the city of Dujail.

The official, who witnessed the hanging but spoke on condition of
anonymity because an official announcement had not been made, said
precautions had been taken to prevent a repeat of what happened to
Saddam's half brother Barzan Ibrahim, who was decapitated on the gallows.

Ramadan was weighed before the hanging and the length of the rope was
chosen accordingly, the official said.

The executions have outraged Iraqi Sunnis and caused concern among
international human rights groups, which have appealed for Ramadan's life.

Ramadan was convicted in November of murder, forced deportation and
torture and sentenced to life in prison. A month later, an appeals court
said the sentence was too lenient, and returned his case to the High
Tribunal, demanding he be sentenced to death. The court turned it into a
death sentence.

Ramadan has maintained his innocence, saying his duties were limited to
economic affairs, not security issues. Human Rights Watch and the
International Center for Transitional Justice have said the evidence
against him was insufficient for the death penalty.

Saddam was executed on Dec. 30 for his role in the killings. 2 of his
co-defendants in the Dujail case his half brother and former intelligence
chief Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq's
Revolutionary Court were executed in January.

Saddam's death was recorded by a cell phone video camera and posted on the
Internet, and much of the Sunni Arab world was infuriated by the mockery
he faced by onlookers in the moments before his hanging. Ibrahim was
inadvertently decapitated when he was hanged, also causing a furor.

(source: ABC News)