Saddam could hang at Abu Ghraib prison

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader convicted on charges of crimes against humanity, could face the hangman in four or five months inside the notorious Abu Ghraib prison where he sent many of his victims, the lead prosecutor in his case said on Monday.

Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi, who dueled with Saddam during 11 months of courtroom confrontations, estimated that the Iraqi High Tribunal's nine-judge appellate court would complete its review in about two months. He expressed confidence the jurists would uphold the verdict.

Because of the one-month period the defense and prosecution now have to present their cases to the appellate court and the 30-day time limit after the review is completed before sentence is carried out, Saddam could be executed before springtime.

"The evidence that we offered is clear and varied and will not prolong the appeals," al-Moussawi said.

Saddam and two other defendants face the death penalty for crimes against humanity for a years-long campaign of retribution against Shiite Muslim residents of Dujail after a 1982 assassination attempt in the town against him.

The two other defendants are Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim, and former Revolutionary Court Judge Awad Hamed al-Bandar.

Iraqi law requires all capital and life-imprisonment cases to be automatically reviewed by an appellate court.

Both al-Moussawi and Tarek Hareb, a top Iraqi legal expert, said the appellate court would finish reviewing the case in no more than three months. Unlike other Iraqi appellate courts, the Iraqi High Tribunal's panel doesn't have any cases stacked up and can concentrate solely on Dujail.

"This is the first and only case that they have ever received, and they've still been receiving their salaries," said Hareb.

Unless the court builds a new execution chamber, Saddam likely will be put to death on the grounds of the fortresslike Abu Ghraib complex, site of the country's only gallows, said Hareb, who is also a defense attorney.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday he opposed the death penalty for Saddam. Blair noted that Britain opposed the death penalty "whether it's Saddam or anyone else."

But he said the trial "gives us a chance to see again what the past in Iraq was, the brutality, the tyranny, the hundreds of thousands of people he killed, the wars."

Blair's views won't affect the fate of Saddam, but they put the prime minister at odds with his close ally, President Bush, who praised the verdict.

Saddam returned to court today for another trial. He and six other defendants are charged with genocide for the Operation Anfal crackdown against Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s.

Saddam's previous trial has proved divisive throughout Iraq, with fears of violence breaking out once a two-day vehicle ban was scheduled to end today. Demonstrations in support of Saddam took place Monday in several cities.

Sunnis and Shiites are locked in a cycle of sectarian warfare. A move to assuage Sunni anger by allowing ranking members of Saddam's Sunni-dominated Baath party back into public life took a step forward Monday.

Ali Lami, head of the De-Baathification Committee, said a draft proposal to allow all but 1,500 party leaders back into government jobs was ready for a parliamentary committee.

"This will let all members of the Baath, whatever their rank was, either to go back to their old jobs or go into retirement," said Lami.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.