Talabani urges delay in executions of Saddam's co-defendants
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani today called for the execution of two of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants to be delayed.
Saddam’s half brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to death after being found guilty along with Saddam of involvement in killing 148 Shiite Muslims after a 1982 assassination attempt on the former leader in the northern town of Dujail.
Their executions were postponed, however, until after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which ended a week ago.
Iraqi officials have said the two men were expected to be hanged in the coming days, but no date has been released.
“In my opinion we should wait on the executions,” Talabani said today at a news conference with US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. “We should examine the situation,” he said without elaborating.
Talabani said he did not know when Ibrahim and al-Bandar would be hanged.
Saddam was executed on December 30 in an unruly scene that brought worldwide criticism of the Iraqi government.
Video of the execution, recorded on a cell phone camera, showed the former dictator being taunted on the gallows.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said Khalilzad asked him to delay Saddam’s execution for 10 days to two weeks, but added that Iraqi officials rejected the demand.
