Execution of Saddam Hussein

The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on Saturday, 30 December, 2006. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him.

The Iraqi government released an official videotape of his execution, showing him being led to the gallows, and ending after his head was in the hangman's noose. International public controversy arose when a mobile phone recording of the hanging showed him surrounded by a contingent of his countrymen who jeered him in Arabic and praised the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and his subsequent fall through the trap door of the gallows. The atmosphere of the execution drew criticism around the world from nations that oppose as well as support capital punishment. On Sunday 31 December 2006, Saddam Hussein's body was returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja, near Tikrit, and was buried near the graves of other family members. He continues to lie there today.

Two days prior to the execution, a letter written by Saddam appeared on the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party website. In the letter, he urged the Iraqi people to unite, and not to hate the people of countries that invaded Iraq, like the United States, but instead the decision-makers. He said he was ready to die a martyr and he said that this is his death sentence. In the hours before the execution, Saddam ate his last meal of chicken and rice with a cup of hot water and honey.

Saddam was executed by hanging at approximately 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on 30 December 2006, the day Sunni Iraqis begin celebrating Eid al-Adha. Reports conflicted as to the exact time of the execution, with some sources reporting the time as 06:00, 06:05, or some, as late as 06:10.

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