Saddam Hussein Analysis Essay Example

releases, the Tribunal is investigating whether the regime of Saddam Hussein committed judicial executions, one or more variety of crimes against people of Iraq, including torture, assassination, extra-judicial executions, forcible relocations of residents genocide, use of chemical weapons and other similar crimes.

Based on the statement made by the Tribunal, the investigative Judges appear to have begun the process of conducting investigations into a number of such crimes. (20 June 2006)The main charges include the invasion of Kuwait, which resulted in the 1991 Gulf war and subsequently violent suppression of the mass uprising in northern and southern Iraq; crimes against humanity such as the destruction of the southern marshlands and forced deportation of thousands Fayli Kurds to Iran; and the genocidal chemical attack on Iraqi Kurds in 1988, during which 5,000 were killed and thousands more injured, making it the largest chemical attack on civilian population. Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, told the Fox news that he had no doubt about Saddam. “I think Saddam Hussein is a war criminal.” He said. Iraq’s first ministers of human rights after Saddam’s regime fell, Bakhteir Amin, agree.

“Saddam Hussein himself is a weapon of mass destruction” (Fox News, October 19, 2005) Three witnesses testified against Saddam during the first Hearing, the other two witnesses testified behind the screens. The witnesses told of the intelligent agents shocking people with electricity and pouring melted plastic on people’s flesh. (B.B.C News)First HearingOn July 1, 2004, the hearing lasted about 46 minutes.

Although they were no attorneys of Saddam were present during the first hearing, his wife Sajida Talfah, hired a team on multinational attorneys from different countries.Saddam Hussein was very confident

through out the hearing and somewhat abusive as well, when he was asked by the judge to identify himself, he answered, “You are an Iraqi, you know who I am.” (The Guardian, October 20, 2005). He also questioned the legitimacy of the tribunal setup to try him. He called the court a, “play aimed at Bush’s chances of winning the U.S.

presidential elections.” (The American spectator, October 11, 2005) he also defended the invasion of Kuwait during August 1990. He also referred to Kuwaitis as “dogs” who were turning the women of Iraq into “two penny whores” which led the admonishment from the judge from using coarse language in court. (Dogs are considered highly unclean in Muslim culture). The Minster said that crude language was expected form Saddam, “this is how he was raised,” he said. (Mail and Guardian).

It is also true because Saddam was raised into a hard-scrabbled, landless peasant family and was allegedly beaten as a child.Towards the end of the first hearing the deposed president refused to sign the legal document conforming his understanding of the charges.Al-Dujail TrialSaddam Hussein was put on trial along with his seven co-defendants. There was also pressure of human rights, which wanted the trial to be fair and they were also those who thought that the trial was unnecessary and that Hussein should be executed.The Iraqi special Tribunal will sift through millions of documents, interview thousands of witnesses and unearth dozens of masses graves to boil down Saddam’s 30-year reign of terror into a series of legally rigorous indictments against him.

Investigators say that Saddam could be tried for more than 300 crimes, but for now

they are focusing in only a dozen (Fox news, October 19, 2005)The co-defendants, included Barzan Ibrahim al- Tikriti (who is the half-brother of Saddam and also former chief of Intelligence), Taha Yassin Ramadan (former vice-president), Awad Hamed Al-Bandar Al-S’adun (a former chief justice), Abdullah Kadim Roweed Al-Mushaikhi, (Al-Dujail Bhaat party offical), his son Mizher Abdullah Kadim Roweed Al-Mushaikhi, (Al-Dujail Bhaat party offical), Ali Deem Ali (Al-Dujail Bhaat party offical), Mohammed Azawi Ali (Al-Dujail Bhaat party offical).The Trial went on from October 20, 2005 to July 27, 2006. The trial occurrences are as follows:On October 20, 2005, attorney Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, charged with the defense of Awad Hamed al-Bandar, was abducted from his office by gunmen, and found shot dead near his office a few hours later.On November 8, 2005, three gunmen in Baghdad killed attorney Adel Al- Zubeidi, who was representing vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid, Barazan Ibrahim’s lawyer was also wounded in the attack.On November 28, 2005, Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin adjourned the trail until December 5, to allow time to find replacements for two defense lawyers who were slain and another who fled Iraq after the attack.On December 7, 2005, Saddam’s legal defense stormed out of the court after questioning it legitimacy and asking about the return of defense   papers seized by the U.

S. Army troops and security issues regarding the projection of the defense. Saddam and his co-defendants railed against the Chief Judge and the tribunal. The next day, after listening to hours of testimony against him, he lashed out at the judge saying that he was exhausted, did not intend on returning to the trial, and

“to go to hell”On December 7, 2005, Saddam refused to enter court, complaining of the conditions in which he was being held and conduct of the trial.

Saddam’s complaints included, among other things, that he had not been able to change his clothes for four days.On December 12, 2005, instead of cross-examining the witnesses, Saddam used the time to accuse his American captors of torturing him saying, “I have been beaten on every place of my body, and the signs are all over my body”On January 23, 2006, Rauf Rasid Abd Al-Rehman was nominated interim chief judge of the tribunal.On March 15, 2006, the prosecution as a witness, on the stand, called Saddam; he began making political statements, insisting he was still the president of Iraq.On June 19, 2006, Saddam and his four co-defendants were sentenced to death penalty. The suspects faced execution by hanging if convicted and sentenced to death.

On June 21, 2006, Saddam went to a hunger strike in protest of the lack of international protection for lawyers, His chief defense lawyer, Khamis Al-Oeidi, was assassinated in Baghdad.On June 27, 2006, two Saddam Hussein’s lawyers, Raamsey Clark, a former US Attorney General, and Curtis Doebbler, held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to call for immediate security for all Iraqi defense.

They claimed that the trial and verdict was unfair.VerdictOn November 5, 2006, Saddam Hussein along with his four co-defendants was sentenced to death, while three others were to serve 15 year in prison, for their crimes against humanity. In the act of defiance as he faced sentencing, Saddam refused to stand as the judge issued the verdict.

The former Iraqi dictator ten finally took to his feet.

Shouting repeatedly in a firm level voice: “long live the Umma (nation). Down, with the traitors. Allahu Akbar (God is Great)! We are the people (of this country). (Monsters And Critics)Local and International Reaction to VerdictThe reaction to the verdict was mainly, a positive one since the dictator was never very popular with his people or others in power.

At one place, the local people were seen dancing in the street, a people watching the trial on T.V applauded the verdict. President Jalal Talabani, said in a statement “I think this trial was fair and I must respect the independence of the Iraqi judiciary, until the end must be silent”Internationally, people were disturbed by the death sentence and the Human rights claimed it unfair, but the verdict did receive a positive response.President George W. Bush stated that, “Saddam Hussein’s trail is a milestone in the Iraqi people’s effort to replace the rule of tyrant with rule of law, and today, this regime have received a measure of the justice which many thought would never come”(Washington Post)In Russia, the foreign affairs committee member Konstantin Kosachev made a cautious statement, saying that he doubted the death penalty would be carried out, he said, “this is more of a moral ruling, revenge that modern Iraq is taking on Saddam Hussein regime” (ANP, 5 November 2006)In Iran, Foreign ministry spokesperson Mohammed Ali Hosseini said, “The Islamic republic of Iran welcomes the death sentence,” but also said, “We cannot forget the western protectors of Saddam who by supporting him prepared the ground for execution of his crimes.”(The Nation, 2006)In India,

Eternal Affairs Minster, Pranab Mukherjee reacted guardedly to the death sentence, saying that such justice should not appear to be “victor’s justice” and should be acceptable to the people of Iraq and international community.

In a statement, he said that such life and death decisions require credible due process of law” (B.B.C, November 5, 2006)In Canada, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackey s said, “my understanding is there is an appeal process to follow, so given that fact, I think it would b pre-emptive to passing any judgments or making dorm public declarations until of those avenues have been exhausted” (Canadian press, November 5, 2006)The European Union, issued a statement saying that while the E.U had repeatedly condemned “the systematic, widespread and extremely grave violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law committed by the regime of Saddam Hussein”, “the EU opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances, and it should not be carried out in this case either.” (The News – International, 2006) In United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said, “It is right that those who are accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi Justice”(News Limited, 6 November, 2006)CriticsThe critics of the verdict is only one person, who is Saddam’s legal council Khalil al- Dulaimi, who stated that, “this court is a creature of the US military occupation, and the Iraqi, court is just a tool and rubber stamp of the invaders” (New Zealand herald, 5 November, 2006) There were also many human rights foundation that claimed that death sentence is an unfair means of punishment, and opposed of the death sentence was also the Vatican

Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Matino, stated that “for me, punishment is a crime – which is what killing for vindication is—would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Reuters, November 5, 2006) The impact of this death sentence is morally and politically questionable. At this point, internationally, a death sentence is morally and politically is not considered an acceptable punishment; the International Criminal court, and other international criminal tribunals, rejects capital punishment as an option.

Almost all political democracies in the world have done away with death penalty, and so impose it here, especially by the way of hanging, can only be regarded as an expression of primitive vindictiveness, an act of vengeance far more than an expression of justice that brings discreet to the whole process. (Death penalty, transnational forums, November 2006)Although many others do have a positive response to the trial and the execution of Saddam Hussein, including the Iraqi people. Yet the execution is unfair, because it proves no more than the primal vindictive nature and law of the Iraqi’s. Many agree although Saddam was a tyrant and also a humanitarian criminal but even he does not deserve death by the hands of his own people and the punishment seems more like a revenge then law.

Iraqi’s are needed for new laws that are less vindictive, and fair.ReferencesThe Saddam Hussein Trail, http://www.loco.gov/law/pulic/saddam Retrieved November 19, 2006 Trail of Saddam Hussein, http://em.wikipedia.org/wiki/trial_of_saddam_hussein Retrieved November 19, 2006 Witnesses testify for torture, http://news.bc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4550314 Retrieved November 19, 2006 Press release, May 11, 2006 http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE140372006 Retrieved November 19, 2006 Wednesday, October 19, 2005, Inside the

trial of Saddam Hussein, http://www.focnews.com/story/0,2933,170848,00.html Retrieved November 19, 2006 November 6, 2006, Death penalty, http://www.transnational.org/forum/2006/Falk_saddamsentence.htlm Retrieved November 19, 2006 November 17, 2006, Saddam sentenced to death by hanging, http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/article_1218483.php/sadda_sentenced_to_death_by_hanging.html Retrieved November 19, 2006 Lobe, Jim, Saddam Hussein’s trial must e fair, http://commondreams.org/headlines03/1212-05.htm Retrieved November 19, 2006 American tortured me- Saddam Hussein http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4550314.html Retrieved November 19, 2006 Reuters, November 5, 2006, Vatican, Catholic officials say "don't hang Saddam" http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L05244002.htm Retrieved November 19, 2006 The Nationhttp://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2006/6/international1.php Retrieved November 19, 2006 The News - Internationalhttp://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=4056 Retrieved November 19, 2006