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Iraq bracing for verdict on Saddam

Atul Aneja

Emotions are running high

— File photo: AFP

Saddam Hussein

DUBAI: Emotions are running high in Iraq as an adverse verdict against the deposed President Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants is expected on Sunday.

Mr. Hussein could be sentenced to death over the alleged killing of 148 Shia residents of the town of Dujail following an attempt on his life in 1982.

Fearing violence, authorities in Baghdad are taking extraordinary precautionary measures. Leave for all military personnel has been cancelled.

12-hour curfew

A 12-hour curfew would be imposed in central and western Iraq, including the Baghdad, Diyala, Salahuddin and Anbar provinces. A vehicular ban would be imposed from 6 a.m. on Sunday and pedestrians have been asked to stay home.

Supporters of Mr. Hussein have threatened violence in case he is sentenced to death. Analysts point out that unrest could not be ruled out in the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi and his other strongholds in the provinces of Anbar and Salahuddin.

Najeen Al-Nuaimi, one of Mr. Hussein's lawyers, has said there are signs that the former President will be awarded capital punishment. In an interview to Al Jazeera television, he said the overall atmosphere and military measures signalled that a death sentence was about to be passed.

"You can judge a book by its cover." The lawyer said his team would appeal against the verdict. "We know what is going to happen, but we will appeal against the verdict, although it will not change things. Does anyone really believe he will get a not-guilty verdict or just a life sentence in prison?"

Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who earlier declared that he would want Mr. Hussein hanged, said: "We hope that the verdict will give this man what he deserves for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people."

The verdict precedes the mid-term elections in the United States, where Iraq has emerged as a key divisive issue.

More than 100 American soldiers died in October, even as violence in Iraq threatens to escalate.

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