Hussein Sentence Could Heighten Rifts in Iraq Sunnis Vow to Avenge
Former Leader as Shiites Celebrate Death Verdict
The death sentence given to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity could deepen Iraq's sectarian rifts and inflame the anti-American insurgency.
In a Baghdad courthouse, Mr. Hussein, in his customary black suit, remained seated as the judge read the verdict finding him guilty of ordering the killings of 148 Shiite-Arab civilians as retribution for a botched 1982 assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail.
"I will listen to the judgment, but I will not stand up," Mr. Hussein told the judge. Mr. Hussein reacted to the death sentence with the traditional Islamic incantation of "God is greater," and then disparaged the Iraqi judges for allegedly doing Washington's bidding: "You are the servants of the colonizers."
With violence on the streets of Baghdad at its highest level in years, the verdict is unlikely to alter the pattern of the sectarian conflict or attacks against U.S. troops, but it will provide another divisive issue for a country struggling to hold itself together.
In the Iraqi capital, reaction to the verdict was mixed. In several Baghdad neighborhoods, many Shiite Muslims, who form the majority of Iraq's population and who were persecuted by Mr. Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime, broke into celebratory gunfire and honked car horns. "All the people who were tortured and killed by Saddam are happy in their graves today," said Jawad Kadham, a 35-year-old Shiite construction worker.
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But many in the country's Sunni Muslim minority, embittered at the current Shiite-led government and the American occupation, said the widely expected death sentence wasn't fair and the real crimes lie in the inability of the current rulers of Iraq to stop murders and bombings on the streets. "The people who tried Saddam are worse than Saddam; it's all about revenge," said Salim Mahmoud, a 40-year-old Sunni engineer.
Such conflicting reactions to Mr. Hussein's death sentence reflect the sectarian gulf widening between Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites, 3? years since the U.S.-led invasion. The Sunni-led insurgency, driven in part by secular supporters of the old regime, also drew in Sunni religious extremists eager to wage holy war against the Americans. Using radical Sunni ideology, these extremist groups decreed Iraq's Shiites to be apostates and sanctioned their killing. The resulting bombing attacks and murders of Shiite civilians led to the rise of Shiite militias who in turn began to target regular Sunnis for reprisals. The sectarian conflict continues, while the U.S.-backed and Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appears unable to stem the violence.
Mr. Maliki, who spent years in exile as a member of a prominent Shiite religious party opposed to Mr. Hussein, hailed the verdict and appealed to the insurgents to stop fighting. "This is the disgraceful end to the person who brought ordeals, pain and reckless wars to this country," the prime minister said in a televised speech. "I say to all deluded remnants of the previous regime: The period of Saddam and his party is gone."
In Mr. Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, some residents marched in protest, vowing to avenge the former Iraqi leader.
In a sign of how embittered the Sunnis are at Iraq's current leadership, Saleh al-Mutlaq, another Sunni politician, warned that the verdict could lead to more sectarian attacks for which the Shiite government will bear responsibility.
The verdict marks the end of a trial that lasted a year and became familiar to most Iraqis because the proceedings were televised. With U.S. congressional elections taking place this week, many Iraqis suspect the Bush administration somehow influenced the timing of the sentence to benefit the Republican party. White House spokesman Tony Snow dismissed the idea as "preposterous" Sunday. President Bush said in a statement Sunday that "history will record today's judgment as an important achievement on the path to a free and just and unified society."
Under Iraqi law, the death sentence is subject to an automatic appeal. If the appellate chamber upholds it, the sentence must be carried out within 30 days. Alongside Mr. Hussein, two other defendants were sentenced to death: Barzan Ibrahim, his half-brother and former intelligence chief; and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court.
伊拉克前总统萨达姆被判处绞刑
伊拉克前总统萨达姆?侯赛因(Saddam Hussein)及其同母异父兄弟巴尔赞?易卜拉辛(Barzan Ibrahim)因于1982年制造“杜贾尔村惨案”杀害148人而于周日被判处绞刑。
伊拉克高等法庭同时判处同案被告、前伊拉克革命法庭最高法官阿瓦德?哈迈德?巴德尔(Awad Hamed al-Bandar)绞刑；前伊拉克副总统塔哈?亚辛?拉马丹(Taha Yassin Ramadan)以预谋杀人罪被判终身监禁。
其他同案被告也以杀人和滥施酷刑等罪名被判处最长15年的监禁。
另有一名被告因缺乏证据而被宣告无罪。
