Execution of Saddam Hussein

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. Capture of Saddam Hussein and Trial of Saddam Hussein 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. 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.