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Saddam Hussein has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and been sentenced to the severest punishment available to the court. He is to be forced to govern Iraq.
There were gasps in the courtroom at the harshness of the sentence; many had expected that Saddam would get away with just the death penalty, but rejecting allegations of cruelty and judicial revenge, the judge said this was a victory for justice and common sense.
Since the war ended, Iraq has become increasingly ungovernable, with a breakdown in law and order, collapsing infrastructure and a rapid descent into civil war. Now Saddam Hussein will be taken from prison at dawn, after which his handcuffs will be removed as he is put in charge of the entire country and told to sort it all out. His defence counsel has said he will definitely appeal for a leaner sentence, possibly just running Basra or trying to get the electricity back on in Baghdad.
The British Government welcomed the verdict that the convicted mass murderer take over their responsibilities. ‘The sentence reflects the severity of Saddam’s crimes’, said a Downing Street source. ‘Before the war, we all thought that Saddam was living a life of luxury and leisure. We underestimated what a difficult job he was doing.’
The US Secretary of State said that this was a punishment to fit the crime; ‘Making Saddam Hussein President of Iraq is the only penalty severe enough for the terrible acts he committed while President of Iraq.’ She denied that the verdict was a surprise when everyone had been expecting the death penalty. ‘Sure we could have pressed for his execution,’ said Condoleezza Rice ‘But the way we’ve left the country, any Iraqi president will get assassinated within the first week anyway.’
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