Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former President, has been sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity.
BAGHDAD: Ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging on Sunday after being found guilty of crimes against humanity in ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite villagers.
At first refusing to stand before the judge, the 69-year-old ousted president, who has defended killing and torturing Shiite opponents, eventually rose shakily to his feet in the dock to hear the verdict and sentence read out.
As chief judge Raouf Abdul Rahman spoke, Saddam, his hands clenched behind his back, almost succeeded in drowning him out, yelling “Allah hu Akbar!” (God is Greatest) and “Long Live Iraq!”.
Four guards took him away after the sentence was read.
The court ignored a plea made by Saddam earlier in the trial that he should face a military firing squad, not the noose.
Abdul Rahman, prompted by the defence lawyers, ordered one of the guards around Saddam out of court for chewing gum and apparently laughing at the condemned man.
The Iraqi High Tribunal also handed down death sentences to former revolutionary chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander and Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti.
Former Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan was sentenced to life in prison.
The charges stemmed from the killing of 148 Shi'ite men in Dujail after an assassination attempt against Saddam in 1982.
A death sentence or life imprisonment generates an automatic appeal, delaying any execution by months at least. Saddam has said he wants to face a military firing squad, not the hangman.
Three Baath party officials charged with Saddam Hussein in the killings of 148 Shiite civilians were sentenced to 15 years in prison while a fourth was acquitted.
An Iraqi judge adjourned the court after sentencing Saddam Hussein and two of his aides to death by hanging on Sunday.
Baghdad's Shiite-led government welcomed the verdict. “This is the least Saddam deserved,” Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.
There was sporadic celebratory gunfire in Baghdad, notably from areas where the Shiite majority live.
Maliki had called for calm in rejoicing but also said Saddam should get what he deserves.
His government has been criticised for interfering in the case -- notably by the first chief judge, who quit.
Abdul Rahman's first act in court on Sunday was to eject former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark after the veteran legal campaigner sent him a note describing the trial as a “mockery of justice.”
As Shiites and Kurds began celebrations across Iraq, Malcolm Smart of human rights watchdog Amnesty International, said: We deplore the verdict of the death penalty.
“We don't consider it was a fair process. The court was not impartial. There were not adequate steps taken to protect the security of defence lawyers and witnesses.”
Also read
Trial chronology
The life and times of Saddam
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