Hussein will hang

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s highest court rejected former President Saddam Hussein’s appeal Tuesday and said he must be hanged within 30 days.

The sentence has already stoked Iraq’s sectarian rage, with the Shiite majority demanding Hussein’s death and his fellow Sunni Arabs calling the trial tainted.

“From tomorrow, any day could be the day” Hussein is sent to the gallows, the chief judge said. Hussein was condemned to death for his role in the execution of 148 Shiite Muslims from the small northern town of Dujail, after a 1982 assassination attempt.

In upholding the sentence, imposed Nov. 5, the Supreme Court of Appeals also affirmed death sentences for two of his co-defendants, including his half brother. And it said life imprisonment for a third was too lenient and demanded he be given the death penalty, too.

Hussein’s hanging “must be implemented within 30 days,” said Aref Shahin, chief judge of the appeals court.

Under Iraq’s constitution, the execution can proceed only if ratified by President Jalal Talabani and the country’s two vice presidents. If they uphold the decision, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would have 30 days to order Hussein’s execution. People close to him said Tuesday he would do so quickly.

Several officials close to al-Maliki, a Shiite, said Tuesday that he plans to proceed with the execution as soon as legally possible. “Definitely,” said Sadiq Rikabi, a political adviser. “This is in order to open a new page in the history of the Iraqi people.”

On Tuesday, Iraqi politicians, including some Sunnis, issued calls for a speedy execution, expressing concern that a delay could cause more sectarian bloodshed and division.

Execution questions

Numerous details of an execution by hanging of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein have either yet to be worked out or made public, including:

Date: As of today, “any day could be the day,” according to Iraq’s highest court. By law, the sentence must be carried out within 30 days.

Location: Possibly Camp Cropper or at a Baghdad prison where the new Iraqi government has carried out other executions.

Witnesses: Whether the public or press will be allowed to witness the hanging, or if the execution will be announced only afterward.

Complications: The appeals court’s decision must be ratified by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the two vice presidents. Both vice presidents have said they would sign a death warrant, sources say. Talabani opposes the death penalty but has in previous cases deputized a vice president to sign on his behalf.

A spokesman for the High Tribunal court that convicted Hussein said the judicial system would ensure he is executed even if the presidency does not ratify the decision.