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Speculation, secrecy shrouds Saddam's final hours

By Ibon Villelabeitia
Fri Dec 29, 2:18 PM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - As he awaits his final hour in a dreary, U.S. military-run prison down the street from one of his former palaces, confusion and secrecy shroud when and how Saddam Hussein will be hanged.

A court this week upheld a sentence that the man who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for three decades until the 2003 U.S.-led invasion be sent to the gallows for crimes against humanity.

But speculation over the timing of the historic execution is flying thick and fast amid conflicting reports about Saddam's transfer to Iraqi authorities for his hanging.

As Iraq prepared to start a week-long religious holiday on Saturday that should halt executions under Iraq law, U.S.-backed al Hurra television quoted unnamed sources as saying workers were busy erecting gallows in the Green Zone by the Tigris.

A U.S. official in Baghdad late on Friday shot down reports that the U.S. military had handed the former president, saying: "He is still in U.S. custody."

Although legally in Iraqi custody, U.S. troops have kept guard over Saddam and are expected to hold on to him until the last minute to avoid security breaches.

Defense lawyers fueled speculation when they said they had been told to collect Saddam's belongings and that Saddam was allowed a visit by his brothers on Thursday -- a right a condemned man has before he is hanged.

Another defense lawyer said prison guards had taken away a small radio Saddam had been given several months ago and that the former strongman had sensed "something was happening."

FINAL LAST WORDS?

Saddam, who has said he is not afraid to die, was reported by his lawyer to be in "very high spirits" as he awaits his appointment with the hangman at the U.S. army's Camp Cropper at what was once Baghdad's Saddam International Airport.

The prison is down the street from a lavish palace Saddam built on an artificial lake which is now used as headquarters by U.S. generals.

Not only the date, but the hour of the hanging is a mystery. Executions since the death penalty was reinstated in Iraq have taken place at dawn but there is also speculation Saddam's could be at noon, or rushed through at any time. A Shi'ite politician said religious authorities were reviewing the case.

In court, Saddam has appeared wearing a white shirt and dark suit, his hair neatly trimmed and dyed black, a far cry from his disheveled appearance when he was captured by U.S. troops in December 2003, hiding in a hole near Tikrit.

If he is treated like other convicts, he could be hooded and dressed in green overalls with his hands bound behind his back.

Under Iraq's penal code, Saddam, who used his court appearances to launch bombastic attacks against his enemies, will be allowed to make a final statement if he wishes.

While a public execution is unlikely, Iraqis are likely to want proof that he is really dead, as when U.S. forces published graphic images of his dead sons and showed the bodies to journalists after they were killed in July 2003.

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