In Hussein's Last Minutes, Jeers and a Cry for Calm

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The Death of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein, the architect of a ruthless dictatorship that ruled Iraq for nearly three decades, is hanged for crimes against humanity in Baghdad in the early morning of Dec. 30, 2006. Hussein was convicted of mass murder and sentenced to death in November.

"Up to the last moment, the matter was being debated," said Mariam Rayis, a Maliki adviser.

But by late Friday, Hussein's execution papers were signed. Munir Haddad, a judge on Iraq's appeals court, received the call at 1:30 a.m. Saturday. A voice said, "Come to the prime minister's office at 3:30 in order to carry out the execution," Haddad recalled.

He arrived, along with Faroun, and joined the rest of the group of 14. They included the acting minister of justice, national security officials, members of parliament and several top Maliki advisers. About 5 a.m., they stepped into two U.S. military helicopters, seven in each. They flew 15 minutes to an Iraqi army base overlooking the Tigris River in Baghdad's Khadimiya neighborhood, Haddad said. It once housed Hussein's military intelligence service, where his opponents were executed.

About the same time, U.S. military officials took Hussein from his prison cell at Camp Cropper, near the Baghdad airport, and flew him to the Green Zone, the fortified enclave that houses the U.S. Embassy and senior Iraqi officials. There, they handed Hussein over to the Iraqis, U.S. officials said. The Iraqis then drove Hussein in an armored convoy to Khadimiya.

The Hangmen Assemble

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When the helicopters landed, Haddad, Faroun and the acting justice minister were rushed into a small, spare room with a desk, several chairs and a refrigerator. Ten minutes later, Hussein walked in. He wore a wool hat and sat down on a chair before Haddad, who was behind the desk. Hussein's hands were locked in front of him with plastic handcuffs.

"He seemed normal, not confused nor afraid," Haddad recalled.

Haddad, following Iraqi law, started to read to Hussein the verdict and the ruling by the appeals court. But as he read, Hussein shouted: "We are in Heaven, and our enemies are in Hell" and "Long live the people, long live jihad, and long live the nation."

Then he directed his anger at two enemies he went to war with during three decades of rule.

"Down with the Persians and the Americans," Hussein said.

But Haddad kept going.

"He tried to raise his voice, but my voice was higher than his," Haddad said.

At the end of the reading, Hussein's hangmen arrived. Hussein met privately with a Sunni cleric for a few minutes.