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Iraqi Executions, Law Abiding or Just Shiite Reprisal Killings?

January 16, 2007 ⋅  E-Mail Article ⋅  Print Article ⋅ Post a comment

The hangings just keep on coming in Iraq and contrary to what some believe the hangings are becoming just one more derisive issue the fledgling government in Iraq will have to deal with. However, many feel that the newly elected Iraqi government is doing nothing more than carrying out the wishes of the leftist Shiite types in Iraq who have strong ties with Iran. The Iraqi government’s hanging of two more of Saddams’ henchmen has merely appeared to just anger once again Saddam Husseins’ fellow Sunni Muslims. The hanging Monday executed the former dictators’ half brother who was reportedly decapitated on the gallows. Amnesty International immediately condemned the executions of Saddam Hussein’s half-brother as a brutal violation of the right to life and a further lost opportunity for Iraqis to properly hold to account those responsible for the crimes committed under Saddam Hussein’s rule (Amnesty International 2007).

Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam Hussein’s half-brother who was also the head of the Iraqi Mukhabarat during Saddams’ rule, and Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-Sa’dun, who was the head of the Revolutionary Court under Saddams’ rule, were hunged earlier today. Both individuals had been sentenced to death in November 2006 by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal. Next up may be Taha Yassin Ramadhan, the former vice-president of Iraq. Ramadhan was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2006 but with little fanfare his case was sent back to court by the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal. The case is now going to be heard by the same tribunal who put Saddam and the other two to death. The referral is seeking a harsher sentence for Ramadhan. Many feel this is once again just Shiite revenge disguised as justice. Many say the executions are nothing more than glorified reprisal killings.

Many in and around Iraq say that the executions may go on for quite some time as Shiite government officials seek out the individuals they hold most responsible for oppression under Saddam Husseins’ rule. Openly, many wonder if the executions will do any good to a country trying to unite. Many also wonder if this is not the hand of the Shiite leadership in Iran reaching out through the Shia members of the new Iraqi government to touch Sunni arabs they want killed but cannot touch because of international scrutiny. By having the Iraqi Shiites execute the Sunni leadership it appears to lend credibility.

How much longer will death penalties be handed out in Iraq is anyone’s guess but we need to make sure of is that these death penalties are justified and not just sectarian reprisal murders being carried out under the guise of legitimate law.

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