mcornelio
12-29-2006, 09:33 AM
Lawyer told to pick up Hussein's personal effects
• NEW: Iraqi prime minister says no delays for hanging, state TV reports
• Iraqi official: Hussein remains in U.S. custody
• Lawyer: Hussein met with half-brothers and passed messages to family
• Hussein lawyer: U.S. military says to pick up belongings
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With Iraqis braced for Saddam Hussein's execution, the former dictator's lawyer said Friday the U.S. military has asked that he arrange the pickup of Hussein's personal belongings.
But Hussein has not been handed over to Iraq authorities for execution and remained in U.S. custody Friday, according to Iraqi Deputy Justice Ministry Bosho Ibrahim.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki said Friday that nothing will stop or delay the execution, according to Iraqi national television.
Al-Maliki told reporters that there will be "no reviews or delays in the execution of the criminal Saddam," Al-Iraqiya TV reported.
Under Iraqi law, his defense lawyers and family would be notified before the death sentence is carried out, and there has apparently been no such notification.
"The American side has just called me and asked me to either send someone to pick up the personal effects of Saddam Hussein and his [half] brother Barzan al-Tikriti, or to give them an address to which they can send them," said lead defense attorney Khalil al-Dulaimi.
He said when he asked the U.S. military if this meant that Hussein had already been transferred to Iraqi custody for his execution, they refused to answer.
Another defense lawyer, Badie Aref, told CNN that Hussein met with two of his half-brothers in his prison cell on Thursday and passed on messages and instructions to his family.
"President Saddam was just bracing for the worst, so he wanted to see his brothers and pass on some messages and instructions to his family," Aref said. The half brothers who visited were Sabawi and Wathban Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, he said.
Another of Hussein's half-brothers, Barzan al-Tikriti, has been sentenced to death and is being held in Iraq under the same charges as Hussein.
Aref said the U.S. soldiers guarding Hussein took away a radio he kept in his cell on Tuesday so he could not hear news reports about his death sentence.
His death sentence was upheld Tuesday by an appellate court. (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/26/iraq.main/index.html))
"They did not want him to hear the news from the appeals court upholding the sentence," he said. "They gave him back the radio on Wednesday."
Aref said Saddam found out about the appeals court verdict "a few hours after it was announced."
On Thursday, Bush administration officials told CNN Hussein is expected to be executed "this weekend."
Hussein would be transferred from U.S. to Iraqi custody within the next day, one official said.
More than one administration source confirmed the impending transfer.
But Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend on CNN cautioned that the timing of the execution is up to the Iraqi government.
Two defense attorneys Thursday met with Hussein in his jail cell.
"He believes in his fate, and his only concern is the unity of the Iraqi people," al-Dulaimi told CNN in Amman, Jordan.
Al-Dulaimi described the former Iraqi dictator's morale as "normal."
Hussein was convicted on November 5 for crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of 148 people after an attempt on his life.
Hussein's execution by hanging must take place before January 27 -- or within 30 days after the Iraqi High Tribunal upheld the death sentence -- according to chief Judge Aref Shaheen. (Watch tensions escalate over Hussein's imminent execution (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/costello.saddam.death.cnn','2007/01/09');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/costello.saddam.death.cnn','2007/01/09');))
"He believes in his destiny," the attorney said.
Al-Dulaimi said Thursday that neither the defense team nor Hussein's family have been given an execution date.
The U.S. State Department also says it has not been told when Hussein will be executed.
A senior Bush administration official said Thursday that the execution is likely to be "a couple of days" from now.
Hussein was sentenced to death for his role in the 1982 killings of 148 people in Dujail, a mostly Shiite town north of Baghdad, following an attempt on his life.
The dictator was found guilty of murder, torture, and forced deportation.
The Dujail episode falls within 12 of the worst cases out of the 500 documented "baskets of crimes" during the Hussein regime.
The U.S. State Department says torture and extrajudicial killings followed the Dujail killings and that 550 men, women and children were arrested without warrants.
A Web warning to U.S.
On the day Hussein's death sentence was confirmed, the Baath party that he led warned it would retaliate against the United States and its interests, and against members of the Iraqi High Tribunal if the execution is carried out.
It said the United States will suffer "grave consequences" if Hussein is executed.
The party also vowed to shut down peace negotiations with coalition forces, according to a statement the group released on an Arabic-language Web site.
The Baathists have been operating as part of the insurgency against the U.S. and its allies since Hussein's regime fell in 2003.
In a farewell letter posted Wednesday on the former Baath Party's Web site, Hussein bid farewell to Iraqis and called on them not to hate the U.S.-led forces. (Watch Hussein try to get in the last word (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/27/costello.saddam.letter.affl','2007/01/10');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/27/costello.saddam.letter.affl','2007/01/10');))
Calling Iraq a "loyal and honorable nation," Hussein says, "I bid you farewell and submit myself to the merciful and ever-faithful Lord." (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/27/iraq.ap/index.html))
Trial itself was on trial
The White House has praised the court's decision, calling the day a milestone.
"Saddam has received due process and the legal rights that he denied the Iraqi people," said Scott Stanzel, deputy White House press secretary.
Al-Dulaimi called the ruling "crazy" and said it came from "an illegitimate and unconstitutional court."
While proponents of the Iraqi High Tribunal hail it for taking steps to ensure accountability for atrocities committed during Hussein's regime, critics have pointed to the lack of safety for attorneys and questioned the judiciary's independence and impartiality.
Three defense lawyers were killed during the Dujail trial, and another fled the country after being seriously wounded. (Watch to see why many consider the trial flawed (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/damon.saddam.sentence.cnn','2007/01/09');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/damon.saddam.sentence.cnn','2007/01/09');))
Human Rights Watch, which had regularly issued reports about the Hussein regime's brutality, also criticized the Iraqi High Tribunal for an over-reliance on anonymous witnesses.
Hussein and others also are being tried in another case, the killings of up to 100,000 Kurds during the 1988 Anfal campaign against Kurdish rebels. The allegations include the use of poison gas against Kurdish towns in northern Iraq.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Joe Sterling contributed to this report
• NEW: Iraqi prime minister says no delays for hanging, state TV reports
• Iraqi official: Hussein remains in U.S. custody
• Lawyer: Hussein met with half-brothers and passed messages to family
• Hussein lawyer: U.S. military says to pick up belongings
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With Iraqis braced for Saddam Hussein's execution, the former dictator's lawyer said Friday the U.S. military has asked that he arrange the pickup of Hussein's personal belongings.
But Hussein has not been handed over to Iraq authorities for execution and remained in U.S. custody Friday, according to Iraqi Deputy Justice Ministry Bosho Ibrahim.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki said Friday that nothing will stop or delay the execution, according to Iraqi national television.
Al-Maliki told reporters that there will be "no reviews or delays in the execution of the criminal Saddam," Al-Iraqiya TV reported.
Under Iraqi law, his defense lawyers and family would be notified before the death sentence is carried out, and there has apparently been no such notification.
"The American side has just called me and asked me to either send someone to pick up the personal effects of Saddam Hussein and his [half] brother Barzan al-Tikriti, or to give them an address to which they can send them," said lead defense attorney Khalil al-Dulaimi.
He said when he asked the U.S. military if this meant that Hussein had already been transferred to Iraqi custody for his execution, they refused to answer.
Another defense lawyer, Badie Aref, told CNN that Hussein met with two of his half-brothers in his prison cell on Thursday and passed on messages and instructions to his family.
"President Saddam was just bracing for the worst, so he wanted to see his brothers and pass on some messages and instructions to his family," Aref said. The half brothers who visited were Sabawi and Wathban Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, he said.
Another of Hussein's half-brothers, Barzan al-Tikriti, has been sentenced to death and is being held in Iraq under the same charges as Hussein.
Aref said the U.S. soldiers guarding Hussein took away a radio he kept in his cell on Tuesday so he could not hear news reports about his death sentence.
His death sentence was upheld Tuesday by an appellate court. (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/26/iraq.main/index.html))
"They did not want him to hear the news from the appeals court upholding the sentence," he said. "They gave him back the radio on Wednesday."
Aref said Saddam found out about the appeals court verdict "a few hours after it was announced."
On Thursday, Bush administration officials told CNN Hussein is expected to be executed "this weekend."
Hussein would be transferred from U.S. to Iraqi custody within the next day, one official said.
More than one administration source confirmed the impending transfer.
But Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend on CNN cautioned that the timing of the execution is up to the Iraqi government.
Two defense attorneys Thursday met with Hussein in his jail cell.
"He believes in his fate, and his only concern is the unity of the Iraqi people," al-Dulaimi told CNN in Amman, Jordan.
Al-Dulaimi described the former Iraqi dictator's morale as "normal."
Hussein was convicted on November 5 for crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of 148 people after an attempt on his life.
Hussein's execution by hanging must take place before January 27 -- or within 30 days after the Iraqi High Tribunal upheld the death sentence -- according to chief Judge Aref Shaheen. (Watch tensions escalate over Hussein's imminent execution (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/costello.saddam.death.cnn','2007/01/09');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/costello.saddam.death.cnn','2007/01/09');))
"He believes in his destiny," the attorney said.
Al-Dulaimi said Thursday that neither the defense team nor Hussein's family have been given an execution date.
The U.S. State Department also says it has not been told when Hussein will be executed.
A senior Bush administration official said Thursday that the execution is likely to be "a couple of days" from now.
Hussein was sentenced to death for his role in the 1982 killings of 148 people in Dujail, a mostly Shiite town north of Baghdad, following an attempt on his life.
The dictator was found guilty of murder, torture, and forced deportation.
The Dujail episode falls within 12 of the worst cases out of the 500 documented "baskets of crimes" during the Hussein regime.
The U.S. State Department says torture and extrajudicial killings followed the Dujail killings and that 550 men, women and children were arrested without warrants.
A Web warning to U.S.
On the day Hussein's death sentence was confirmed, the Baath party that he led warned it would retaliate against the United States and its interests, and against members of the Iraqi High Tribunal if the execution is carried out.
It said the United States will suffer "grave consequences" if Hussein is executed.
The party also vowed to shut down peace negotiations with coalition forces, according to a statement the group released on an Arabic-language Web site.
The Baathists have been operating as part of the insurgency against the U.S. and its allies since Hussein's regime fell in 2003.
In a farewell letter posted Wednesday on the former Baath Party's Web site, Hussein bid farewell to Iraqis and called on them not to hate the U.S.-led forces. (Watch Hussein try to get in the last word (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/27/costello.saddam.letter.affl','2007/01/10');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/27/costello.saddam.letter.affl','2007/01/10');))
Calling Iraq a "loyal and honorable nation," Hussein says, "I bid you farewell and submit myself to the merciful and ever-faithful Lord." (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/27/iraq.ap/index.html))
Trial itself was on trial
The White House has praised the court's decision, calling the day a milestone.
"Saddam has received due process and the legal rights that he denied the Iraqi people," said Scott Stanzel, deputy White House press secretary.
Al-Dulaimi called the ruling "crazy" and said it came from "an illegitimate and unconstitutional court."
While proponents of the Iraqi High Tribunal hail it for taking steps to ensure accountability for atrocities committed during Hussein's regime, critics have pointed to the lack of safety for attorneys and questioned the judiciary's independence and impartiality.
Three defense lawyers were killed during the Dujail trial, and another fled the country after being seriously wounded. (Watch to see why many consider the trial flawed (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/damon.saddam.sentence.cnn','2007/01/09');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2006/12/26/damon.saddam.sentence.cnn','2007/01/09');))
Human Rights Watch, which had regularly issued reports about the Hussein regime's brutality, also criticized the Iraqi High Tribunal for an over-reliance on anonymous witnesses.
Hussein and others also are being tried in another case, the killings of up to 100,000 Kurds during the 1988 Anfal campaign against Kurdish rebels. The allegations include the use of poison gas against Kurdish towns in northern Iraq.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Joe Sterling contributed to this report