Saddam lawyers told to pick up his effects

Reuters ^ | 12/29/06 | Mariam Karouny

[TexKat]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's lawyers have been asked to pick up his personal effects but Iraq's Justice Ministry denied it had taken custody of the former president and dismissed a U.S. suggestion he would hang as early as Saturday.

One defense lawyer, who declined to be identified, said Saddam had been handed over by U.S. forces to Iraqi government custody. U.S. military spokesmen said they had nothing to add to a statement late on Thursday that he was still in their control.

Asked about comments from the defense lawyer that Saddam had been handed over, Deputy Justice Minister Bosho Ibrahim told Reuters: "This is not true. He is still with the Americans."

He also dismissed a remark by a senior U.S. official who said there were plans to send Saddam to the gallows as early as Saturday. The ministry, which is in charge of implementing court rulings, would not execute Saddam before January 26, he said.

Khalil al-Dulaimi, who led Saddam's defense team until he was sentenced on November 5, told Reuters: "The Americans called me and asked me to pick up the personal effects."

On Thursday, Saddam was allowed to see two of his half-brothers, who are also in detention at a U.S. base near Baghdad. A lawyer said the former president was in high spirits.

U.S. military and embassy spokesmen dealing with the issue said they had nothing to add to a statement late on Thursday which said Saddam was still in U.S. custody and stressed the need for secrecy over arrangements for security reasons.

Although legally in Iraqi custody, U.S. troops physically keep guard over Saddam. And although Iraqis will carry out the execution, U.S. and Iraqi officials say, it seems likely U.S. forces will stay on hand throughout for fear that opponents of the former leader could turn it into a public spectacle.

Iraqi officials backed away on Thursday from suggestions they would definitely hang him within a month, in line with a 30-deadline set out in the statues of the tribunal. A cabinet minister told Reuters a week-long religious holiday ending only on January 7 would stall any execution.

HAPPY TO BE A MARTYR

Saddam's lawyer said he bade farewell to two of his half brothers on Thursday in a rare prison meeting.

"He was in very high spirits and clearly readying himself," Badie Aref, a defense lawyer, told Reuters after the 69-year-old former leader met half-brothers Watban and Sabawi, who are also both held at the U.S. army's Camp Cropper near Baghdad airport.

"He told them he was happy he would meet his death at the hands of his enemies and be a martyr, not just languish in jail.

The novelty of the U.S.-sponsored process by which Saddam and his third half-brother Barzan, along with another senior member of the Baath party, were condemned on November 5 has left considerable room for wrangling over the timing of any execution among rival factions and between Washington and Baghdad.

"It's none of the Americans' business to decide when," one justice ministry official said on Friday.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had previously said he wanted Saddam hanged this year for the killings, torture and other crimes against fellow Shi'ites in the town of Dujail.

But some of Saddam's fellow Sunnis have warned this could reinforce their community's alienation and many ethnic Kurds want Saddam first convicted of genocide against them in a second trial that is still underway.

Saddam is due back in court in that trial on January 8.

Iraq's Saddam-era penal code bars executions on religious holidays. Eid al-Adha holiday, which follows the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca, runs until January 7 in Iraq.

Nonetheless, the U.S. official in the United States said Saddam could be hanged within days: "I've heard that it's going to be a couple more days, probably."

(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Dubai, Ibon Villelabeitia in Baghdad)

[fanfan]

Canadian is spelled with a capital "C".

:-)

[Daveinyork]

In the midst of listening to the theme from "Hang 'em High" I got the same feeling. I was laughing about the impending death of a human being, one that I have seen on TV, and therefore feel like I know, not some faceless enemy. Saddam deserves a fate worse than death, and we should be glad when justice has been served. Perhaps we feel a certain moral twinge at our happiness, even humor, over the taking of a human life. I think it's right to feel that way, and I'm not sure that we should ever celebrate a death. We should celebrate justice.

[HonestConservative]

"On Thursday, Saddam was allowed to see two of his half-brothers..."

Does that make one regular brother?

[TexKat]

Saddam Hussein Remains in Custody Ahead of Execution Fox News

Well I should hope so Fox News!

Saddam Hussein remained in U.S. custody as of Friday morning ahead of his pending execution as sources said the defiant former Iraqi dictator would be hanged by New Year's, and possibly in the next 24 hours.

[Paradox]

and I'm not sure that we should ever celebrate a death. We should celebrate justice.

Exactly. In fact, I feel a bit sorry, not for Saddam the evil former dictator of Iraq, but for whatever last shred of Humanity that is in his soul. I always feel a sadness for someone who is going to be killed, because I figure there is still some humanity \, even if perhaps a shred, in them that deserves pity. On the other hand, there is a need for Justice here, and I will be glad when that happens.

[Carl LaFong]

Sure you didn't get hold of some bad back bacon?

[TexKat]

Confusion surrounds Saddam's future

CONFUSION surrounded the whereabouts of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein earlier today.

Early reports suggested the tyrant - who has been told his death sentence will be carried out at any time within the next month - had been handed from US to Iraqi custody in Baghdad and his lawyers have been asked to collect his personal effects.

The reports were subsequently denied by Iraq's Justice Ministry, but American sources said they were unable to confirm or deny whether the transfer had taken place.

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The handover of Saddam would be a precursor to his execution ordered to be carried out by Iraq's highest court on Tuesday after it rejected Saddam's appeal against his conviction for the killing of 148 Shiites in the northern city of Dujail in 1982.

The court said the former president should be hanged within 30 days.

Armand Cucciniello, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Baghdad, said he could not confirm whether Saddam had been transferred to Iraqi authorities.

"It's up to the government of Iraq to carry out the execution," Cucciniello said.

Belongings

Hussein's chief defence lawyer today said the ousted leader remained in United States' custody pending his handover to Iraqi authorities for his expected execution.

Khalil al-Dulaimi said American officials called him and asked him to give authority to someone to receive Saddam's personal belongings from the US military prison where Saddam is being held. But al-Dulaimi said he had not yet given that authority.

But he said "this call means that they will hand him to the Iraqi authorities soon".

Bosho Ibrahim, Iraq's deputy justice minister, added: "Press reports that he has been handed over are not correct."

Al-Dulaimi could not confirm when the handover or Saddam's expected execution would take place.

Hussein has been held at Camp Cropper, an American military prison.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/231/231851_confusion_surrounds_saddams_future.html

[Mrs. P]

I always thought "personal effects" were what was left when a person was gone from this earthly existence. I'm wondering if the deed has already been done but kept quiet.

[Professional Engineer]

WHY?

[TexKat]

Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain has been sentenced to death for the massacre of 148 men in Dujail.

Timeline: Saddam trial

December 29, 2006:

Saddam Hussain's lawyers say he has been handed over by the US forces to Iraqi government's custody.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki tells state television that Saddam's expected execution will go on without delay or interference from anyone.

December 4, 2006:

Saddam Hussain's lawyers appeal against the death sentence against their client for the killing of 148 Shiites in Dujail.

November 5, 2006:

Saddam Hussain is sentenced to death for the killings of 148 men after a failed assassination attempt.

November 4, 2006:

Army on alert: All leave for Iraqi military officers has been cancelled in anticipation of a wave of violence following the sentencing of former Iraqi premier Saddam Hussain.

November 1, 2006:

Death or return: Saddam Hussain will either face the death penalty or he will return as president of Iraq, which will turn into "hell" if the deposed dictator is sentenced to death, his lawyers told the media.

October 31, 2006:

Kurdish witness speaks: A Kurdish man told a court trying Saddam Hussain for genocide he saw Iraqi soldiers marching Kurdish prisoners from a bus and killing them before dumping their bodies in a ditch.

October 30, 2006:

Defence walks out again: Saddam Hussain's defence lawyers left the court after clashing with the judge and saying the case against Saddam lacked the "conditions for a fair trial."

October 17, 2006:

Witness makes camp claim: An anonymous witness described how was taken to a huge prison camp after a promised amnesty as Saddam Hussain's genocide trial started on Wednesday.

October 16, 2006:

Verdict date? A court official from the Saddam trial trying said it could deliver its verdict on November 5.

October 12, 2006:

Let me speak: Saddam Hussain asks judge not to cut off his microphone when he takes the stand. After hearing from three kurdish witnesses, the trial is adjourned until October 16.

October 11, 2006:

Saddam thrown out: Chief judge throws Saddam Hussain out of court following an argument, the fourth time in the last five sessions that Saddam has been ordered to leave the court since Mohammed Al Ureybi took over as chief judge.

October 9, 2006:

Prisoners buried alive: Prison guards under Saddam Hussain used to bury detainees alive and watch women as they bathed, occasionally shooting over their heads, a former female prisoner testified.

[ErnBatavia]

http://www.deadmaneating.com/

[sodpoodle]

"Saddam Hussein's lawyers have been asked to pick up his personal effects"

Checking eBay for the validity of this report.

[TexKat]

I always thought "personal effects" were what was left when a person was gone from this earthly existence. I'm wondering if the deed has already been done but kept quiet.

That was being discussed last night by other Freepers (ARealMothersSonForever and mystery-ak)on this thread here: NBC Breaking: Saddam Hussein to be hanged within 36 Hours

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1759595/posts

[bvw]

Evil's gravity pulls on your weaknesses.

[Daveinyork]

I've been using all those old cliches from the westerns, like "string'eem up", "necktie party", "hempen necktie", "hempen fever", "dancing on air", and the old English one - "doing the Morris dance", and humming the theme from "Hang 'em High", but there is something tugging at my conscience. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

A part of me hopes that the drop is too short and that he strangles - for a long time. He deserves worse, but a part of me recognizes the price he is paying for his crimes, but also realizes that he deserves it, should pay it.

Hanging is a frightening way to go, and, in his place, I'm sure my pants would be wet from the moment of sentencing to the moment the end comes, but it's appropriate. Lethal injection is much too gentle for his crimes.

[King of Florida]

He also dismissed a remark by a senior U.S. official who said there were plans to send Saddam to the gallows as early as Saturday.

Hey, I like Saturday! Halftime of the Navy/BC bowl game sounds about right.

[teeman8r]

the war with iran will be over very quick once it starts... leave no room for monday morning quarterbacking... a real version of shock and awe...

it will have to be. we might have to sacrifice canada, but hey, they'll get over it...

just kidding about the canada thing.

teeman

[sodpoodle]

That loop doesn't look big enough to be hanged by the neck!

[TexKat]

Checking eBay for the validity of this report.

Lol, I thought the same thing this morning when I posted the article. I wondered just how long would it be before Saddam's last personal belongings are posted on eBay.

I wonder how much his courthouse koran will go for.

Saddam Hussein waves the Koran as he addresses the court during his trial. (AP Photo) Dec 5, 2005

[TexKat]

He also dismissed a remark by a senior U.S. official who said there were plans to send Saddam to the gallows as early as Saturday.

Is that because Saddam has already been to the gallows, hmmmmmmmmm!