news details |
|
|
| Saddam's half brother, aide hanged | | |
Baghdad, Jan 15
Saddam Hussein's half-brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court were hanged today, two weeks after the deposed Iraqi dictator's bungled execution drew worldwide condemnation.
An Iraqi government official said there had been "no violations" during the early morning executions but that the head of Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, had been ripped from his body.
Former intelligence chief Barzan and Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, died before dawn, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told a news conference.
Dabbagh said that Barzan had been decapitated during his hanging, while Basem Ridha, an advisor to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called the "incident" an "act of God".
"There was an incident that happened, that is the separation between the body of Barzan and the head. This happens seldom but it did happen and there was act of God and it was a normal process. It's happened before," said Ridha.
The two condemned men had been found guilty of crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shiites from the village of Dujail in the 1980s.
They were sentenced to death on November 5 by a special court along with Saddam, whose execution on December 30 was roundly condemned for the way it was handled by the Iraqi authorities.
Ridha told media in comments translated from Dabbagh's statement that "the execution took place in a very high manner, there were no violations reported."
The two officials declined to reveal where the execution was carried out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
