No leave for Iraq officers ahead of Saddam verdict
Iraq’s defence minister today cancelled leave for all army officers, apparently fearing violence after Sunday’s expected announcement of a verdict in the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Defence Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi was heard issuing the order in videotaped footage of a meeting between Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and senior military and security officials, in which Maliki upbraided them for failing to stop the capital’s unbridled violence.
“All vacations will be cancelled and all those who are on vacation must return,” al-Obeidi said, adding that reserve soldiers would be called up within 12 hours.
On the video released by Maliki’s office, the prime minister could also be heard discussing a curfew for Sunday, although it wasn’t clear whether any such order had been issued.
Those measures underscore fears that the verdict could unleash further violence in Iraq, where sectarian violence and the bloody insurgency against US forces and the Iraqi government kill scores of people every day.
Saddam’s trial was intended to heal the fractured nation by exposing the crimes of his regime in a court of law. Instead, it has been seen by many as worsening tensions between majority Shiites and the Sunni minority who made up the bulk of the former ruling class.
Many of Saddam’s fellow Sunni Arabs, along with some Shiites and Kurds, are predicting a firestorm if the Iraqi High Tribunal convicts and then sentences the ex-president to death, as it is widely expected to do.
On the other hand, most Shiites, including al-Maliki, have called for a death sentence, and are likely to be enraged if he escapes the gallows. Al-Maliki said last month he expects “this criminal tyrant will be executed,” saying that would likely break the will of Saddam followers in the insurgency.
Saddam and seven co-defendants – including a half brother – have been on trial since Oct. 19, 2005, for their alleged roles in the deaths of about 150 Shiites in the town of Dujail after an assassination attempt against the president in 1982.
A second trial against Saddam – for alleged genocide against the Kurds – began in August and more charges are expected to follow. It is unclear whether those cases would move forward if Saddam is condemned to hang.
Five judges will render the Dujail verdict based on a simple majority decision. There is no jury. If Saddam is convicted, his case would be reviewed by a nine-judge panel.
The review has no time limit but a death sentence, if upheld, must be carried out within 30 days.
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