AP: Saddam half-brother, ex-official hanged

[Eugene]

Saddam half-brother, ex-official hanged

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

3 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's half brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary
Court were hanged before dawn Monday, Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said, two weeks and two
days after the former Iraqi dictator was executed in a chaotic scene that has drawn worldwide
criticism.

Barzan Ibrahim, Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar
head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, had been found guilty along with Saddam of in the killing
of 148 Shiite Muslims after a 1982 assassination attempt on the former leader in the town
of Dujail north of Baghdad.

The two men were to have been hanged along with Saddam on Dec. 30, but Iraqi authorities
decided to execute Saddam alone on what National Security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie called a
"special day."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070115/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_executions

[efhmc]

1. Every time I read this stuff, my stomach turns over. It is wrong and disgusting.

[efhmc]

2. Posted twice .

[hang a left]

3. Has anyone found the video yet? nt

[WiseButAngrySara]

4. I just heard this on CNN. I was ready for bed and had already

logged off.

[struggle4progress]

5. Aide Says U.S. Won’t Yield 2 to Iraq to Hang Without a Plan (NYT)

By JOHN F. BURNS
Published: January 15, 2007

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 — A senior American official said over the weekend that two of Saddam Hussein’s top associates would not be handed over to Iraqi officials for execution until the Iraqis presented detailed plans that satisfied the Americans that there would be no repeat of the abusive treatment Mr. Hussein was exposed to before he was hanged.

The two men — Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, and Awad al-Bandar — were condemned to death with Mr. Hussein in November by the Iraqi tribunal trying top officials of the former government, and their sentences, like Mr. Hussein’s, were upheld by an appeals court on Dec. 26. They have been held since their capture in 2003 in American custody, at a detention center on the edge of Baghdad’s international airport, as was Mr. Hussein.

Immediately after Mr. Hussein was hanged on Dec. 30, senior officials in the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said that Mr. Tikriti and Mr. Bandar would be hanged soon after the end of the Id al-Adha religious holiday. It ended 11 days ago, but Iraqi officials have remained silent on the execution date.

The American official said that the Americans had asked the Iraqis for details of who would attend the execution, and for assurances that other aspects of the hanging would be carefully regulated. An illicit camera phone recording made during Mr. Hussein’s execution showed the former leader, a Sunni Arab, being subjected to sectarian taunts and other mockery from an overwhelmingly Shiite group of witnesses, guards and executioners ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/world/middleeast/15iraq.html

Well, that was quick: "No camera phones?" "No, we not allow camera phones." "OK! The packages are en route" ...

[truth2power]

6. Getting rid of everybody who could testify

to the Iraq/Bush Crime Family nexus.

[struggle4progress]

22. U.N. Chief Says Iraq Executions Jeopardize Justice

Jan 15, 2007 9:33 am US/Pacific

(AP) NEW YORK The hangings of two of Saddam Hussein’s aides could damage attempts to bring to justice other people responsible for horrific crimes under his rule, the U.N. human rights chief said Monday.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour expressed regret over the execution of Barzan Ibrahim, Saddam’s half brother and his former intelligence chief, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, chief of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court. She said she was opposed to capital punishment “under all circumstances.”

“In this particular case, not only is the penalty irremediable, it may also make it more difficult to have a complete judicial accounting of other, equally horrendous, crimes committed in Iraq,” she said in a statement ...

http://cbs5.com/topstories/topstories_story_015123807.html

[daleo]

7. The purges will really get going now

I don't know if we will ever hear the half of it.

[k_jerome]

8. good riddance. nt.

[Psephos]

9. Saddam's half-brother used to be in charge of Iraq's kangaroo courts

Got what he deserved, IMO. I notice no posts in this thread about the uncounted thousands who suffered injustice or worse because of him.

Peace.

[Bluebear]

10. "I notice no posts in this thread..."

Are you concerned and troubled?

Did it occur to you that some people are against the death penalty? Or did you notice the poster who remarked that now they would not be able to testify against possible Western collaborators?

[clixtox]

11. One (or two) more wrong(s)...

Will never make anything right! Barbaric ignorant revenge actually, justice has nothing to do with killing anyone, ever. Period. IMHO

What would Jesus or Santa Claus have done?

[MGD]

15. What would Jesus or Santa Claus have done?

Who really gives a shit either way?

[MGD]

16. hey hey hey hey hey easy now. That's enough of that kind of rhetoric fella.

You're going to undermine our platform of righteous indignation with talk like that.

[Eugene]

12. Additional info: Barzan decapitated

(BBC News)

Last Updated: Monday, 15 January 2007, 10:18 GMT

Saddam Hussein's top aides hanged

Two of Saddam Hussein's key aides have been hanged in Baghdad, two weeks
after the chaotic execution of the former Iraqi president.

There were "no violations" this time, officials said, but Saddam Hussein's
half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, was decapitated as he was hanged.

-snip-

Government officials said the decapitation of Barzan was not abnormal, although
it was rare for the head to be severed during hanging. One described it as
"an act of God".

-snip-

Correspondents say the gruesome detail about Barzan's decapitation was probably
made public in order to avoid it being leaked later with accompanying allegations
of mistreatment.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6261965.stm

Related: Saddam aides hanged, anger at beheading "mishap" - Reuters

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. How did they sever his head?

It sounds as bad as the murders by Zarqawi.

[GCP]

14. It was botched - possibly deliberately IMHO

If they miscalculate the length of the drop, the head can be ripped off during the hanging. Apparently it's quite a science, taking into account the weight of the prisoner etc.

[bklyncowgirl]

17. I'm sure this was conducted with proper dignity--no cell phones allowed

It wasn't the hideous scene of the executioners and witnesses taunting Saddam that embarrased the US and Iraqi governments but the fact that it was illicitly recorded.

They could have lit the bastards on fire while they swung and no one would know the difference.

[dailykoff]

18. How nice, a double lynching to honor the MLK holiday.

A "special day" indeed.

[AtomicKitten]

19. Iraqi officials emphasized just how lovely these lynchings were

compared to Saddam's.

[Eugene]

20. Reuters: Iraq govt shows film of Saddam aides' hangings

Iraq govt shows film of Saddam aides' hangings
15 Jan 2007 13:50:49 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Iraqi government officials showed journalists film
of Monday's execution of two aides to Saddam Hussein in which they appeared
to tremble with fear and his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was beheaded
by the noose.

The pair stand side-by-side on what appears to be the same gallows where Saddam
was hanged two weeks ago.

Unlike Saddam, they wore orange jumpsuits and were given hoods. When the trap
opens, Barzan's head is wrenched from his body and comes to rest in a pool of blood
below the gallows while former judge Iwad al-Bander swings on a rope beside him.

-snip-

The government officials said they did not intend to release the film to the public.

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15311840.htm

[struggle4progress]

21. US envoy says Saddam aides had "Iraqi execution" (Reuters)

15 Jan 2007 13:03:19 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said the execution of two of Saddam Hussein's senior aides on Monday was an entirely Iraqi affair with little U.S. involvement ... Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters: "It was an Iraqi process. It was an Iraqi decision, an Iraqi execution." U.S. forces had held the two during their trial .. and .. U.S. troops transported them to the gallows, government sources said.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15300030.htm