Amnesty International Deplores Death Sentences In Saddam Hussein Trial

[Judi Lynn]

Amnesty International Deplores Death Sentences In Saddam Hussein Trial
49 minutes ago

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following release was issued today by Amnesty International on the death sentences in Saddam Hussein trial:

Amnesty International deplores the decision of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (SICT) to impose the death sentence on Saddam Hussein and two of his seven co-accused after a trial which was deeply flawed and unfair. The former Iraqi dictator was sentenced today in connection with the killing of 148 people from al-Dujail village after an attempt to assassinate him there in 1982. The trial, which began in October 2005 almost two years after Saddam Hussein was captured by US forces, ended last July. The verdict was originally due to be announced on 16 October but was delayed because the court said it needed more time to review testimony.

The case is now expected to go for appeal before the SICT's Cassation Panel following which, if the verdict were to be upheld, those sentenced to death are to be executed within 30 days.

"This trial should have been a major contribution toward establishing justice and the rule of law in Iraq, and in ensuring truth and accountability for the massive human rights violations perpetrated by Saddam Hussein's rule," said Malcolm Smart, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "In practice, it has been a shabby affair, marred by serious flaws that call into question the capacity of the tribunal, as currently established, to administer justice fairly, in conformity with international standards."
(snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20061105/pl_usnw/amnesty_international_deplores_death_sentences_in_saddam_hussein_trial102_xml;_ylt=A9G_RwuDEk5FGksBZAmyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

[Demeter]

1. We Need Saddam Alive To Testify At Bush's War Crimes Trial

Because in your heart, you know Bush has a rope in his future, too.

[Oleladylib]

16. Absolutely and I do not see how this country can differentiate

between Saddam and Bush.

[applegrove]

2. I hate the death penalty..but dam if I will fight for someone who gassed

villages. I've no interest.

[otherlander]

6. Same here.

But who were the 'other two'?

[leesa]

7. Well, then you have to be willing to settle the questions about that gassing

because there are many published statements that say that survivors say it was cyanide gas (almond odor, blue tinge to bodies), which is what the Iranians were using and not the type of gas the Iraqis were using. There is almost always two sides to a story and usually we've been fed the propaganda our gov wants us to hear.

He deserves a real trial as much as anyone does. Actually I would like him to have a real trial to find out our OWN involvement in what has happened in his country under his rule.

[wholetruth00]

10. You make some excellent points and the entire world should want to know

truth about this case. As you say, there are two sides or more to every story.

[dipsydoodle]

3. I'm inclined to agree.

At present even the legality of the trial remains suspect.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/001638.html

The only thing the final outcome has got going for it is that it will help set a precedent for the Axis of Weevils in the White House.

[bobbie]

11. I'm inclined to agree too

And thanks for the link

[bluedog]

4. they want International JUDGES

Amnesty International will now follow closely the appeal stage, where the evidence as well as the application of the law can be reviewed, and the SICT has therefore an opportunity to redress the flaws of the previous proceedings. However, given the grave nature of these flaws, and the fact that many of them continue to afflict the current trial before the SICT, Amnesty International urges the Iraqi government to seriously consider other options.


These could include adding international judges to the tribunal, or referring the case to an international tribunal -- an option indicated by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last September.

[Cleita]

5. In spite of Saddam's crimes he is entitled to a fair trial, not

the kangaroo court he was subjected to. I hope AI presses for him to be removed to the Hague for a real trial. It's in the world's best interest because half of the world isn't going to accept this decision as being just. It will only ratchet up the hatred half the world has for the USA.

[saigon68]

20. Nice Justice Bush Replaced the Puppet Judge half way thru the trial

Ass Clowns all History will judge the Chimpanzee Harshly

[JoFerret]

8. Thank you Amnesty

A voice for decency at all times.

[wholetruth00]

9. So, if Saddam had the good sense to call his opposition "terrorists"

and those who attempted to kill him "terrorists" he would have escaped this trial and sentence? At least that's how it is with US. UK and Israeli laws today.

[Thor_MN]

12. Saddam get death by hanging for 148, what will * get for hundred of thousands?

* and the neocons make Saddam look like a small town thug.

[Bucky]

15. Yes, he's a small town thug... who killed off a small town (or two)

Bush, I'm betting, will not be punished. Not in this life, anyway.

[NaturalHigh]

13. Cry me a river.

I don't plan to take part in a "Save Saddam" campaign. He and his miscreant sons have gotten off far too easy.

[Briar]

14. Amnesty International

are not alone.

"Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said that Ireland and its EU partners had made clear their opposition to the death sentence being invoked by Iraqi tribunals, as the governments of France, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands confirmed the European view. "I must say that this is very far from our ethics and the political tradition of this country, no matter how cruel the crime is," said Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. The European Union has abandoned the death penalty, which became a controversial issue when the tribunal to judge Saddam was set up."

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1959073.ece

I am ashamed to say that the British Government, as ever, is merely echoing the Bush administration. Clearly they are as incapable of a principled stand on the death penalty as on anything else.

[iverglas]

19. CP: Too soon for Canada to comment on Saddam death sentence: MacKay

Thanks to tuvor for making it simple by posting in the Canada forum. ;)
http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/politics/news/shownews.jsp?content=n110539A

TORONTO (CP) - U.S. President George W. Bush has trumpeted it as a victory for "Iraq's young democracy," but Canadian leaders are declining to weigh in just yet on the death sentence handed down Sunday to ousted Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein.

Echoing the words of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said he'll reserve passing judgment on the matter until the appeals process is complete.

"They've had an open and transparent trial where evidence was heard, but at this point, my understanding is there is an appeal process to follow, so given that fact, I think it would be pre-emptive to be passing any judgments or making any firm public declarations until all of those avenues have been exhausted," he said.

"Obviously there is an impact on the ground that we have to be very cognizant of, but I suspect as with most processes, this will delay the inevitable."

That seems to be a reasonably appropriate response at this stage, although a general policy statement opposing the death penalty in any circumstances would have been nice.

A problem that world governments have is that international law does not condemn the death penalty, and expressly provides for non-interference in the application of the death penalty where it is applied in accordance with the rules:

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(Iraq ratified the Covenant in 1971)
http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm

Article 6

1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court.

3. ...

4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases.

5. ...

6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant.

This is not to say that a foreign government is not entitled to call on any country not to apply the death penalty, as the European Union nations have done.

Tony Blair does seem to have been forced to speak for his own country rather than for the Bush administration, eventually and grudgingly:

Blair opposes death penalty for 'Saddam or anybody else'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2440171,00.html

Tony Blair today said he was opposed to the death penalty for Saddam Hussein but backed Iraq’s right to decide the deposed dictator's fate, saying that his trial served as a reminder to the world of his "barbaric brutality".

In a heated exchange with reporters at his monthly press conference, an increasingly irritated Prime Minister refused to be drawn on whether he personally supported yesterday’s Iraqi court verdict that the former leader should be executed, insisting that the issue had already been answered by Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary.

Asked repeatedly about his own position, he retorted, clearly annoyed: "That is just enough, thank you very much. I happen to want to express myself in my own way if you don’t mind."

But he eventually conceded: "We are against the death penalty, whether it’s Saddam or anybody else."

May I add that I hope that anyone not planning to oppose the death penalty in this case, because of the identity of the individual it is being applied to, won't be heard in future to be, oh, fighting to the death for the right to free speech of inciters of hatred, just f'r instance.

Being against the death penalty only when it is being applied to people we like makes considerably less sense than being in favour of free speech only when people we like are talking. People we like seldom get executed.

[Marie26]

17. It was a fake trial,

put on for the benefit of the American media, with a predetermined verdict & sentence. How many attorneys were killed during this trial? How many times was it suspended because of Saddam outbursts, attorney assassinations, corrupt judges? Fine, Saddam's going to die. Yay. But I'd have preferred a real trial first.

[Coventina]

18. Saddam's death will only bring MORE misery to Iraq

In death he will become a martyr and potent symbol for the Sunnis.

Letting him rot quietly away in jail for the remainder of his years is a better solution, IMO.

Plus, as another poster pointed out, he is a valuable witness to our own warcrimes of the 80s and going forward.....

[Behind the Aegis]

22. The misery won't be contained to Iraq...

...

Palestinians protest Saddam death sentence, threaten reprisals

JENIN - Schoolgirls marched and shopkeepers closed down their stores in this West Bank town on Monday in protest at the death sentence handed down against Saddam Hussein by a Baghdad court which found him guilty of crimes against humanity.

Carrying pictures of Saddam, about 250 girls from seven to 13 years old paraded through the town's refugee camp, chanting "Beloved Saddam, strike Tel Aviv," the same slogan shouted by jubilant Palestinians when Iraqi rockets slammed into Israel during the 1991 Gulf War - before the marchers were born.

Under Saddam's rule Iraq donated $25,000 per household for Jenin residents to rebuild homes destroyed in a 2002 Israeli military offensive there.

In the Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, masked gunmen from a previously unknown group calling itself Arafat's Army threatened reprisals against foreign citizens in the Palestinian territories if the sentence against Saddam is carried out.

more...

[Stockholm]

21. The trial and guilty verdict is the important part

for the healing process in Iraq. Killing Saddam is not.

There are many crimes he should be tried for yet. A lot of really interesting information that can be extracted.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=194x790