The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein took place on 30 December 2006. Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the Dujail massacre—the killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail—in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him.
The Iraqi government released an official video of his execution, showing him being led to the gallows, and ending after the hangman's noose was placed over his head. International public controversy arose when a mobile phone recording of the hanging showed him surrounded by a contingent of his countrymen who jeered him in Arabic and praised the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and his subsequent fall through the trap door of the gallows.
Saddam Hussein's body was returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja, near Tikrit, on 31 December and was buried near the graves of other family members.
Prior to execution
After being sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, Saddam requested to be executed by firing squad rather than hanging, claiming it as the lawful military capital punishment and citing his military position of commander-in-chief of the Iraqi military. This request was denied by the court. Two days prior to the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party website. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to unite, and not to hate the people of countries that invaded Iraq, like the United States, but instead the decision-makers. He said he was ready to die as a martyr and he said he was at peace with his death sentence. In the hours before the execution, Saddam ate his last meal of chicken and rice and had a cup of hot water with honey.
Execution
Time and place
Saddam was executed by hanging at approximately 05:50UTC +03:00 on the first day of Eid al-Adha (30 December 2006). Reports conflicted as to the exact time of the execution, with some sources reporting the time as 06:00, 06:05, or some, as late as 06:10.
The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-American military base Camp Justice, located in Kazimain, a north-eastern suburb of Baghdad. Contrary to initial reports, Saddam was executed alone, not at the same time as his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who were executed on 15 January 2007. Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death and was hanged on 25 January 2010.
Proceedings
A senior Iraqi official who was involved in the events leading to Saddam's demise was quoted as saying, "The Americans wanted to delay the execution by 15 days because they weren't keen on having him executed right away. But during the day [before the execution] the prime minister's office provided all the documents they asked for and the Americans changed their minds when they saw the prime minister was very insistent. Then it was just a case of finalizing the details." U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told journalists in Baghdad that after "physical control" of Saddam was given to the Iraqi government, "the multinational force had absolutely no direct involvement with [the execution] whatsoever." There were no U.S. representatives present in the execution chamber.
Reports circulated that Saddam's behavior was "submissive" and that he was carrying the Qur'an he had been keeping with him throughout his trial before his execution. Al-Rubaie, who was a witness to Saddam's execution, described Saddam as repeatedly shouting "down with the invaders". Al-Rubaie reportedly asked Saddam if he had any remorse or fear, to which Saddam replied:
Sami al-Askari, a witness to the execution, said, "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted, 'Allahu Akbar. The Muslim Ummah will be victorious and Palestine is Arab! Saddam also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the American invaders. After the rope was secured, guards shouted various rebukes including "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" in reference to Muqtada al-Sadr; Saddam laughed, repeating the name mockingly and rebuked the shouts stating, "Do you consider this bravery?" A Shi'a version of an Islamic prayer was recited by some of those present in the room while Saddam recited a Sunni version of an Islamic prayer. One observer told Saddam:
Saddam replied,
In response to the heckling of one of the masked guards (the man said "You have destroyed us, you have killed us. You have made us live in destitution!"). Saddam replied: "I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persians and Americans."
The deputy prosecutor, Munqith al-Faroun, responded to hecklers, stating,
