TASEK PAUH blogspot

BAGHDAD (Jan 15, 2007): Saddam Hussein's half-brother and the chief judge under Saddam's regime were hanged early today after they were convicted with the former Iraqi dictator of a 1982 massacre of 148 Shia Muslims.

The executions of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former head of Iraq's intelligence service, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq's revolutionary court, were carried out before dawn, CNN,al-Jazeera and the BBC reported.

The excutions, coming two weeks after Saddam was put to death, were carried out about 5am (0200 GMT), CNN said, citing Badee Aref, a defence attorney for several officials in Saddam'sregime.

The three men were found guilty in November in the killings in the city of Dujail, which were carried out in retaliation for a plot to assassinate Saddam.

Today's hangings were carried out despite international appeals to halt them, including from UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon, the European Union and human-rights groups that argued the trial was flawed and unfair.

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani also urged the government last week to put off the hangings.

They followed an uproar over Saddam's Dec 30 execution. Videos showing Saddam, a Sunni, being taunted by Shiites during the hanging were disseminated via mobile phones, on the Internet and shown on TV.

The scenes, which included shouts against Saddam and for Shiite and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr, were condemned internationally and provoked anger among Sunnis. - dpa

Labels: Berita, Iraq, Luar Negeri, Saddam