Amnesty International deplores Hussein's execution

Amnesty International has deplored the execution of Saddam Hussein.

The organisation, which totally opposes the use of the death penalty, said it was concerned that the Iraqi Appeals Court failed to address the major flaws of the former dictator's trial before the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, which flaws had rendered it unfair.

"We oppose the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, but it is especially abhorrent when this most extreme penalty is imposed after an unfair trial," Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme said in a statement.

"It is even more worrying that in this case, the execution appeared a foregone conclusion, once the original verdict was pronounced, with the Appeals Court providing little more than a veneer of legitimacy for what was, in fact, a fundamentally flawed process." AI said it had greatly welcomed the decision to hold Saddam Hussein to account for the crimes committed under his rule but this should have been done through a fair process.

Instead, the process would be seen by many "as nothing more than victor's justice". It would not do anything to stem the unrelenting tide of political killings.

The trial failed to satisfy international fair trial standards, Amnesty claimed, citing political interference, inadequate protection of witnesses and defence lawyers and denial of access to legal counsel for the first year after Saddam Hussein's arrest.

"Every accused has a right to a fair trial, whatever the magnitude of the charge against them. This plain fact was routinely ignored through the decades of Saddam Hussein's tyranny".

Mr Smart also described the execution as a major blow to the process of establishing the truth of what happened under Saddam's rule.

www.amnesty.org