BAGHDAD, 2 September 2005 — Iraq hanged three convicted murderers yesterday, the first executions since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, the government said.
Iraqi authorities reinstated the death penalty after the end of the US-led occupation in June 2004 so they would have the option of executing Saddam Hussein if he is convicted of crimes committed by his regime. Saddam is expected to stand trial soon after the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, an official said yesterday.
“At 10 a.m. in Baghdad, the first executions were carried out since the fall of the regime, against three criminals,” spokesman Laith Kubba said. The government announced Aug. 17 that the three had been sentenced to death after having been convicted in May by a court in the Shiite city of Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad.
The government statement said they were convicted of killing three police officers, kidnapping and rape. Kubba said the men were hanged. “It was a difficult decision because we are living in a democratic atmosphere,” Kubba said. “This is the highest punishment taken against people who have conducted assassinations, and it aims at deterring criminals from going too far in their crimes.”
