WASHINGTON: A US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks gives first official version of former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein's hanging and how he spent his last few hours in an Iraqi prison. The cable comprises minutes of a meeting the then US ambassador in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, had with Iraqi Deputy Prosecutor Monqith Al-Faroun on Jan 7, 2007.

Mr Faroun described Saddam's execution to the ambassador, including the people present, the cell phone video and the verbal taunts from guards at the scene.

Al Faroun described arriving at the then prime minister's residence on Dec 29, 2006, after he was informed the execution would occur early the next morning. Included in the planning and discussions were a group of Iraqi advisers from the PM's office and other Iraqi officials, including National Security Adviser Muwafuq Rubaie.

Following this meeting, Al Faroun said, the 14 officials went directly to the helicopter landing zone, known as LZ Washington, located in the international zone adjacent to the US Embassy Annex, for travel aboard a MNF-I helicopter to the execution site.

At LZ Washington American personnel searched everyone and took the passengers' cell phones, al-Faroun explains. The 14 officials then boarded two helicopters for the flight to north-eastern Baghdad where the execution occurred.

The US Ambassador asked if al-Faroun knew about a van that allegedly arrived at the execution site with additional people wanting to witness the execution. The US cable, however, notes that about one hour prior to the execution an SUV arrived at the base.

The vehicle included six personnel identified by the government of Iraq as their video personnel and officials.

Final plans: until this point, nothing improper occurred. Al Faroun and the judge immediately separated from the group to meet Saddam, read the verdict and escort him to the execution room.

Al Faroun said he “sympathised” with Saddam who entered with his covered head, hands tied and shaking involuntarily. The judge then read the verdict and the death sentence. At that point, Al Faroun said, Saddam became more animated and began speaking, “as if he were still the President”.

Once the readings had finished, al-Faroun explained, the three men, accompanied by four prison guards, walked down a long corridor lined with the 14 witnesses to the room where the execution would occur.

The US ambassador asked whether this was the same site Saddam used to execute Dawa party members. Al-Faroun affirmed that it was the same place, but noted that it had also been used for other executions as well.

US Embassy officials confirmed the location has been used previously and that Americans constructed the execution platform.

Al-Faroun interjected that the original platform was not built to proper standards, and that as a result criminals were suffering during execution. The new platform requires prisoners to climb a flight of stairs and ensures less suffering, al-Faroun said.

The ambassador then asked whether the four guards were members of Jaysh al Mahdi, the militia loyal to Shia leader Moqtada al Sadr. Al-Faroun replied that as far as he knew they were official prison guards. Iraqi National Security Adviser Rubaie then approached Saddam and asked him if he was afraid.

'Anticipating this moment'

Saddam responded that he was not afraid, that he had been “anticipating this moment” since he first came to power, knowing that as President he had many enemies. Saddam had been holding a copy of the holy Quran and asked who among the witnesses would ensure Awad al-Bandar's son received it. Al-Faroun agreed to take the book and after Saddam handed it to him the guards retied his hands. Al-Faroun emphasised that up until this point nothing “improper” had occurred.

And then the taunting, the yelling, the photos begin. The guards then began to tie Saddam's feet at which point he asked who would help him climb the stairs. It was at this moment, al-Faroun said, that a guard told Saddam to “go to hell”.

Al-Faroun said he raised his voice immediately and warned people that “he would not allow the guards or witnesses to speak” to Saddam. He turned around, he said, to further admonish the witnesses and saw two government officials openly taking photos with their mobile phones.

Two guards escorted Saddam upstairs and offered to cover his head with a hood. Saddam refused. The executioner explained that the noose could cut his neck and offered him a cloth to prevent any pain. The prison guards, standing below the platform, watched Saddam as he prayed. Before Saddam finished, al-Faroun said, one person shouted “Moqtada, Moqtada, Moqtada.” The prosecutor claimed that he again raised his voice to silence the witnesses. This disruption, he said, occurred only once and did not delay the execution.

Saddam Hussein died instantaneously. He was removed from the platform and placed in a bag.

Al-Faroun told the ambassador that despite the controversies, he witnessed “a condemned person convicted in a legal trial” which had proven Saddam “killed thousands”. The ambassador agreed that Saddam's supporters would use the execution as an excuse to condemn what had been a fair and just trial. However, he continued, there were many people who had been happy to see Saddam brought to justice who were now upset by how the execution occurred.

The Ambassador asked about the execution's timing, commenting that having the execution one hour before Eidul Azha has angered some people. Al-Faroun replied that there are both social and legal opinions about implementing the death penalty during holidays.

The legal opinion, he said, states that criminals cannot be executed on a holiday. The Iraqi government examined the timing, he said, and experts concluded that if it finished before sunrise it would not coincide with Eid. The social opinion shared by some members of the international community, he continued, is that the death penalty should not be used at any time regardless of whether it occurs during a holiday.

Al Faroun disregarded this argument, noting that law “does not take into account people's feelings”. The ambassador stated that some have questioned the execution's legality given the absence of an “administrative affirmation” from President Talabani.