Baghdad, Iraq – Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday, NBC News reported Thursday.
According to a U.S. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, Hussein will be hanged before the start of the Eid religious holiday, which begins Sunday.
The hanging could take place as early as today, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.
The U.S. military received a formal request from the Iraqi government to transfer Hussein to Iraqi authorities, NBC reported Thursday, which is one of the final steps required before his execution. His sentence, handed down last month, ordered that he be hanged within 30 days.
Hussein’s lawyer made a last-ditch effort to impede his execution Thursday, beseeching world leaders to prevent the United States from handing over the ousted dictator to Iraqi authorities.
The plea came as the U.S. military reported the deaths of five more troops and announced that Iraqi forces, backed by American forces, captured an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell leader believed responsible for the June kidnapping of two soldiers who were found tortured and killed.
With at least 72 more Iraqis killed in sectarian violence, U.S. officials and Iraqis expressed concern about the potential for even worse bloodshed following Hussein’s execution. Hussein’s lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said transferring him to Iraqi authorities could be the trigger.
“If the American administration insists in handing the president to the Iraqis, it would commit a great strategic mistake which would lead to the escalation of the violence in Iraq and the eruption of a destructive civil war,” he said.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said there was concern about the potential for violence in carrying out the execution.
“I’m sure the Iraqi government is thinking through that and working with the coalition in terms of the impact that could have,” he said.
The White House was preparing for Hussein’s execution as early as this weekend, based on information U.S. officials in Baghdad were receiving from the Iraqi government, a senior administration official said in Washington.
But Iraq’s deputy justice minister, Bosho Ibrahim, said Hussein shouldn’t be hanged for another few weeks. “The law does not say within 30 days, it says after the lapse of 30 days,” Ibrahim said.
He did not explain the discrepancy between his interpretation and the court’s, nor could he give a specific execution date.
Al-Dulaimi, Hussein’s lawyer, said the ousted leader should enjoy protection from his enemies as a “prisoner of war” and remain in U.S. custody.
“According to the international conventions, it is forbidden to hand a prisoner of war to his adversary,” al-Dulaimi said.
