Iraqi Court Upholds Saddam's Death Sentence

An Iraqi appeals court has upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein, Iraq's national security adviser said Tuesday. "The appeals court approved the verdict to hang Saddam," said the official, Mouwafak al-Rubaie.

On Nov. 5, an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam to the gallows for the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town after an attempt on his life there.

He's one step closer to dancing from the end of the rope he so richly deserves. Of course, expect the usual suspects to complain about how Saddam's trial was marked by various discrepancies and other procedural issues that somehow nullify the atrocities he committed. Those same usual suspects were notably silent on those atrocities and that it took the US action to depose Saddam to put the Iraqis in a position to bring Saddam to justice.

UPDATE:
The New York Times has more, including that under Iraqi law, the sentence will likely be carried out within 30 days.

Reuters and other news agencies also quoted a court official, Raid Juhi, as saying that the verdict had been upheld.

It was not immediately clear when the execution under the verdict could be carried out, but under Iraqi law it is supposed to happen within 30 days of the final appeal. Mr. Hussein is currently being tried in a separate case on charges of genocide in connection with the deaths of 50,000 Kurds in a campaign that ultimately killed 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s.

The Shiite-led government has argued for a swift execution, saying that as long as Mr. Hussein is alive, he remains a powerful source of motivation for elements of the Sunni Arab insurgency fighting to restore him to power.

Earlier this year, Mr. Hussein’s chief lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said that Mr. Hussein had been expecting a death sentence handed down by the Iraqi court trying him on charges of crimes against humanity.

“Saddam Hussein is convinced of this,” Mr. Dulaimi said. “He knows the sentence has been issued from Washington, and if there’s an even greater punishment than the death sentence, he’ll get it.”

Never mind that Hussein is now on trial for the genocide and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Kurds during the Anfal campaign, the Times has to carry water for the pro-Saddamists and take note of the current violence and strife ravaging Baghdad.

UPDATE:
Jason Smith notes that Saddam will be missing the Super Bowl. Too bad. So sad. Pajamas Media covers the story and notes that the swift appeal means that Saddam can't take advantage of Iraqi law that forbids the execution of persons over the age of 70.

Others taking note of the court's decision: Charles at LGF, Bill's Bites, Hot Air, TexasFreds (who offers the Administration some sharp criticism for not taking the reins and getting a grip on the situation in Iraq), NoisyRoom, Backseat Blogger, Thunder Pig, and Dread Pundit Bluto.

Technorati: saddam hussein, iraq, kurds, dujail, shiites, bush, capital punishment, justice.