December 30th In History: Saddam Hussein Is Hanging Without A Head Coverings

JAKARTA - On December 30, 2006, Saddam Hussein was executed. Iraqi courts sentenced him to crimes against humanity. The executions took place at the former military intelligence headquarters in the Shia district of Baghdad at 6am local time. The execution, which came after his appeal was rejected a week earlier, ended the life of one of the Middle East's most brutal dictators.

To quote The Guardian, Wednesday, December 30, one of those who witnessed the hanging was Sami al-Askari, an adviser to the Iraqi prime minister. He said Saddam struggled when he was taken from his cell in a United States military prison. Even so Saddam seemed to remain calm in his final moments. In fact, he did not even express remorse.

On his deathbed, the former dictator was dressed in black. He refused to wear a head covering and said he wanted to take the Koran to the gallows to give to a friend.

"Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted. 'God is great. The nation will win and Palestine is Arab,'" said Askari.

Iraqis can see for themselves the moments before Saddam was executed. Footage broadcast on state television showed Saddam looking calmly chatting with a masked executioner before a rope was tied around his neck. But that was all. The record does not show hanging processes.

In the US, a judge refuses to stop Hussein's execution. He rejected a last-minute court challenge by the former Iraqi president. Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister (PM) adviser Nuri al-Maliki said the timing of the execution had been agreed upon during a December 29 meeting between US and Iraqi officials.

In a prepared statement, US President George Bush warned Saddam's execution would not stop the violence in Iraq. But Bush said it was "an important milestone in Iraq's journey to become a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror."

The Iraqi PM's office released a statement saying Saddam's execution was a "powerful lesson" for the ruthless leaders who committed crimes against their own people. Saddam's execution was followed by reports of a car bombing in which 30 people died in the city of Kufa.

In Sadr, Baghdad's main Shiite area, people dance in the streets. Others fired guns into the air to celebrate Saddam's death.

The government does not enforce a round-the-clock curfew, as it did before, when Saddam was convicted. Radio Free Europe reports Iran has hailed Saddam's hanging as an appropriate punishment for the man held responsible for the start of an eight-year, devastating war against Iran that killed more than one million people.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave a neutral reaction. The execution of the former Iraqi president is a matter for the Iraqi government, he said. "We wish peace and prosperity and joy for the Iraqi people. It will have no impact on Afghanistan."

Adnan Mufti, chairman of Iraq's Kurdistan National Assembly said "(Saddam's) death penalty is natural. We all hope (Saddam is executed) for serious crimes committed under former President Saddam Hussein's government. He is the person directly responsible for these crimes.

Saddam was the vice president and regime strongman, responsible for internal security. But he used his position to build a power base that enabled him to replace Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as president in 1979.

When he took power, he launched a massive purge from the party. Iraq under Saddam Hussein was under a ruthless dictatorial rule.