March 28, 2004
Saddam ' to hang'
Saddam Hussein will hang, the British envoy to Iraq predicted as he left the country this weekend, writes Tom Walker.
Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Britain?s special representative to the United Nations in Baghdad, said that although the death penalty was suspended during the American-led coalition rule in Iraq, it was likely to return when power was handed back in June.
?Iraqis, when they are sovereign, can make their own choices on this,? he said, admitting that capital punishment ?is the tradition in this region. I think it?s expected to go that way?.
While Saddam used a variety of methods to dispatch opponents ? from acid baths to firing squads ? historically Iraqi courts have sanctioned hanging. ?They feel quite strongly about this,? said Greenstock, 60. ?They want to do it under their own laws.?
Greenstock has been widely admired for his role in the post-war reconstruction. He will be replaced by David Richmond, a Foreign Office specialist in the region.
A veteran French lawyer has agreed to defend Saddam at the war crimes tribunal to be set up in Iraq. Jacques Verges has previously acted for Klaus Barbie, the Nazi leader, and Carlos the Jackal, the Venezuelan terrorist.