BAGHDAD, Dec 27: In a defiant open letter to the Iraqi people, released on Wednesday, Saddam Hussein said he would go to the gallows as a “sacrifice” and called on his former Iraqi subjects to unite against their enemies.
“I sacrifice myself. If God wills it, he will place me among the true men and martyrs,” wrote Saddam in the letter, which his lawyer said was penned last month for release if his death sentence was upheld.
“O faithful people, I bid you farewell as my soul goes to God the compassionate,” he wrote. “Long live Iraq. Long Live Iraq. Long live Palestine.
Long live jihad and the mujahedeen. God is great.”
Saddam and two officials of his regime were convicted of crimes against humanity on Nov 5, after a court heard they ordered the deaths of 148 Shia men from the village of Dujail in an act of collective punishment.
On Tuesday, a panel of appeal court judges confirmed the sentences, in what was a binding and final judgement. Authorities now have 30 days within which to carry out the execution orders.
EXECUTION: Iraq prepared on Wednesday for the rapid execution of Saddam Hussein, with the US-backed government eager to bring his chapter in the country's bloody history to an end.
The ousted tyrant's fate remains controversial, however, with Iraqis split over whether his imminent hanging will do more to calm the violence sweeping the country or to provoke greater bitterness between Sunnis and Shias.
Justice Minister Hashem al-Shibli said the sentence for crimes against humanity -- upheld by an Iraqi appeal court on Tuesday --- would be rubber stamped by the presidency while the prison service prepares to hang him.
“There will be no amnesty in this case. Once we get the decree, we shall prepare to take action,” Shibli told AFP, adding however: “You know there'll be the Eid. It could take some time because of the holiday.
“The decree passed by the court of appeal shall be passed to the presidency and a presidential decree shall be sent to the General Prisons Directorate for the purpose of implementing the death sentence,” he said.—AFP
