Former vice-president death sentence unlikely to fuel violence

The United Nations and human rights groups have condemned the death sentence passed on Monday against Iraq’s former vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, while most ordinary Iraqis are happy to see him hang.

Military specialists said that although they expected violence to continue in Iraq, it was unlikely that it would be exacerbated by the hanging of Ramadan.

“Ramadan’s death will not increase the current violence because Ba’athists and other supporters of [former president] Saddam and his regime are not taking the lead in Iraq’s Islamic-stained insurgency as they are secular," said Tawfiq Hamza Allwan, a retired major who served 33 years in the former Iraqi army.

“These insurgent groups in Iraq will not link themselves with the secular regime of Saddam as they are trying to make the fighting between the good guys and the bad guys to save Islam from 'crusaders' and declare an Islamic State in Iraq," Allwan added.

Many ordinary Iraqis, who suffer insecurity and a lack of many basic amenities, feel that too much attention is being given to such high-profile cases.

“I think the international community should focus more on Iraqi people who are being killed in tens every day rather than focusing on one person who caused tragedy for many Iraqis," said Afaf Ahmed Muhssin, a 42-year-old English teacher.

I think the international community should focus more on Iraqi people who are being killed in tens every day rather than focusing on one person who caused tragedy for many Iraqis.

Ramadan, an ethnic Kurd, was convicted on 5 November and sentenced to life imprisonment for the forced deportation and torture of Shia villagers after a 1982 attempt on former president Saddam Hussein’s life in the mainly Shia town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.

A month later, an appeals court said the sentence was too lenient and returned his case to the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), demanding that he be sentenced to death. The court agreed to that on Monday.

In early February, UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour told the court that was trying Ramadan that imposing the death sentence on the former vice-president would violate international agreements signed by Iraq.

“The High Commissioner argues that the court’s imposition of the death sentence on Taha Yassin Ramadan would violate Iraq’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” a statement issued by Arbour’s office in Geneva said.

The 18-page ‘friend of the court’ brief, which was submitted to the IHT by Arbour on 8 February, described shortcomings in the proceedings against Ramadan and concluded that these constitute “an unfair trial”.

Ramadan is the fourth member of the ousted regime to face capital punishment in the Dujail case.

Human Rights Commissioner

Photo: IRIN

Louise Arbour, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner

The High Commissioner argues that the court’s imposition of the death sentence on Taha Yassin Ramadan would violate Iraq’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Saddam was hanged on 30 December, while his half-brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court were executed on 15 January. Three other defendants were sentenced to 15 years in prison in the case; one was acquitted.

On the eve of Ramadan's hearing, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW)and the International Center for Transitional Justice in Iraq issued a joint statement saying the evidence against him was insufficient for a death sentence.

“The tribunal found Ramadan guilty without evidence linking him to the horrific crimes committed in Dujail,” said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Programme at HRW. “Ramadan was convicted in an unfair trial, and increasing his punishment from life imprisonment to death reeks of vengeance.”

On Tuesday, Amnesty International (AI) condemned the death sentence imposed on Ramadan as “a denial of true justice to the victims of Saddam Hussein's rule and a further undermining of the fundamental rights to a fair trial and the right to life”.

Victims of Ramadan’s alleged crimes had little time for the international condemnations of Ramadan’s death sentence.

“Let these international organisations get me back my palm and fruit orchard that was razed by him [Ramadan] and let them tell me the whereabouts of my six cousins who disappeared and there is no word on their fate yet," said Hamad Assim Jolan, a 65-year-old farmer from Dujail whose 100-acre orchard was razed as part of the government’s punishment at that time.

“Why are they [international community] turning their eyes away from those who committed these crimes? Should we reward them for that or punish them to make them an example for others who think of destroying people’s lives like this,” Jolan added.

For Kurds, who were fighting against Saddam for decades to gain independence, Ramadan’s death will be considered as one of the goals they were fighting for.

“He is a traitor. He preferred to be with Saddam and fight against his fellow Kurds in their struggle and he deserves this sentence,” said Haval Koran Mohammed, a supermarket owner in the northern city of Erbil.

sm/ar/ed