Iraqi Official: Saddam to be Executed Before 6 AM Baghdad Time
29 December 2006
An Iraqi official says ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will be executed before six a.m. Saturday Baghdad time, that is three hours Universal Time.
The official, who declined to be named, said the time was agreed upon during a meeting in Baghdad between U.S. and Iraqi officials.
An Iraqi appeals court judge, Munir Haddad said earlier that all documents for the execution are ready.
Published reports say lawyers for Saddam have made a last-minute appeal in a U.S. court seeking a temporary restraining order to block the execution.
Iraqi officials said Friday that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had signed all the paperwork necessary to carry out Saddam's execution.
Mr. Maliki said those who oppose the death sentence for Saddam are insulting the memory of his victims.
The U.S. Defense Department said U.S. forces in Iraq are bracing for any upsurge in violence that may be triggered by Saddam's execution.
Last month, an Iraqi court sentenced the former dictator to hang for ordering the killing of 148 Shi'ite Muslims in the town of Dujail in 1982.
On Tuesday, an Iraqi appeals court said Saddam's execution should be carried out within 30 days.
Saddam also was being tried on charges of genocide for a military campaign against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s. Prosecutors say 180,000 Kurds were killed.
U.S. forces captured Saddam in December 2003 - eight months after a U.S.-led invasion ousted him from power.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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