Saddam sentenced to death by hangingShiites, Kurds celebrate upon hearing court's guilty verdict
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's High Tribunal on Sunday found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to hang for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail. The visibly shaken former leader shouted "God is great!"
Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of the former Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to join Saddam on the gallows for the Dujail killings after an unsuccessful assassination attempt during a Saddam visit to the city 35 miles north of Baghdad.
The death sentences automatically go to a nine-judge appeals panel which as unlimited time to review the case. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days.
(full story)
3 comments:
Cooch,
Would you pay $20 to see this on PPV?
I'd give $1,000 and throw a party, but I'm guessing this shit will find its way to the Internet some day...
Updated:2006-11-10 07:19:58
Saddam's "Hanging" Sold Out in Indian Theater
By Bappa Majumdar
Reuters
KOLKATA, India, (Nov. 10) - Saddam Hussein might have an outside chance of escaping the hangman's noose through an appeal process in Baghdad but, for followers of Indian folk theater, the toppled Iraqi leader is already a dead man.
"Saddam at the Gallows" opens on December 2 in the eastern city of Kolkata and the first 50 shows have already sold out.
"We are expecting huge profits and have requests pouring in from many states of India to stage shows," said director Haradhan Roy.
The play opens in a high-security prison where Saddam is being held, with a debate about whether hanging him is the right thing to do. The curtain falls with Saddam being led away to the gallows.
"We are deliberating whether to enact Saddam's hanging live on stage because many people may not like it," Roy said.
A U.S.-backed Iraqi court sentenced Saddam on Sunday to hang for crimes against humanity. Legal experts and officials say the appeals process could take months.
Indian folk-theatre plays, known as "jatras," are shown on giant outdoor stages and feature loud music, plenty of songs performed with gusto but often without microphones, harsh lighting and dramatic props.
Theater troupes travel around rural towns and cities and a single show often fetches 50,000 to 70,000 rupees ($1,000-1,200).
With cable television and Bollywood films threatening the art form, troupes are tackling contemporary issues such as the 2004 Asian tsunami or the September 11 attacks on the United States to woo the crowds back.
"Saddam at the Gallows" is the sequel to "Saddam the Prisoner" which also played to packed houses in the city, formerly known as Calcutta.
"Operation Flush" is another popular drama on the U.S.-occupation of Iraq and torture at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited.
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