30 December 2006
Saddam Received Justice He Denied Others, Bush Says
Execution took place after Iraqi High Tribunal rejected appeal
Washington – The trial and execution of Saddam Hussein are testament to the determination of the Iraqi people to establish a nation governed by the rule of law, President Bush said in a statement from his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
"Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime," Bush said, noting that fair and open trials were "unimaginable" under his regime. “We are reminded today of how far the Iraqi people have come since the end of Saddam Hussein's rule,” the president said.
Saddam was found guilty by the Iraqi High Tribunal of crimes against humanity for the 1982 killing of approximately 160 men and boys in the Shiite town of Dujayl.
The Appellate Chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal rejected Saddam's appeal on December 26, upholding his conviction and clearing the way for his execution. Under Iraqi law, a death sentence that has been upheld must be carried out within 30 days. Saddam executed on Saturday, December 30.
"Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq," Bush said, "but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror." (See related article.)
The full text of President Bush's statement can be found on the White House Web site.
For more information, see Iraq Update.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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