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Iraqi Officials Order Baghdad Curfew Ahead of Saddam Verdict

By Benjamin Sand
Irbil, Iraq
04 November 2006

A verdict in Saddam Hussein's long-running war crimes trial is expected Sunday morning. Security has been stepped up around the country, as officials there brace for a possibly violent backlash, if the former Iraqi dictator is found guilty.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed for calm ahead of Sunday's expected verdict in the first of two cases against Saddam Hussein, on charges of crimes against humanity.

Prime Minister Maliki says he hopes Saddam receives the verdict "he deserves for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people."

Security has been boosted throughout Iraq ahead of Sunday's expected verdict and possible death sentence. Strict daytime curfews are in effect from Sunday morning across Baghdad and several Iraqi provinces.

The capital's international airport is also being closed for the day, and military leaves have been canceled for all Iraqi army officers.

A week ago, Saddam's defense lawyer warned that a guilty verdict in the lengthy trial could spark violence throughout the Middle East.

Saddam and seven co-defendants are being tried for allegedly ordering the murder in 1982 of nearly 150 people in the Shi'ite town of Dujail, north of Baghdad. The killings came after an attempt on Saddam's life.

If convicted, the ousted Iraqi dictator could face the death penalty.

The prime minister called on Iraqis to show restraint following the verdict.

The capital has already been seized by a wave of violence in recent days. At least 80 bodies have been recovered in the last two days, many showing signs of torture.

Whatever the verdict, many Iraqis say the trial has already stripped Saddam of his hold over the country.

"It's gone, totally gone," said one Iraqi. "We don't fear of him anymore. He don't have power anymore, he don't have his people who pray for him, not anymore. All this gone, he's nothing, only a normal person now."

Saddam is being tried in two separate war crimes cases at the same time.

In the second case, he is accused of genocide, stemming from the so-called Anfal campaign in 1988, that prosecutors say left 182,000 Kurds dead or missing.

A verdict in that second trial is not expected until sometime next year. However, if Saddam is convicted and condemned in the Dujail case, many Iraqi officials, including Mr. Maliki, are pushing for an early execution, even if the Anfal trial is still in progress.

But legal experts here say such quick action remains highly unlikely.

If the first court does impose the death penalty in the Dujail case, the sentence would automatically be appealed to a nine-member appellate court. A final decision there could take at least several months.