Hussein appeal could take 3 months

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

Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi, who dueled with Hussein during 11 months of grueling courtroom confrontations, estimated that the Iraqi High Tribunal's nine-judge appellate court would complete its review in about two months. He expressed confidence that 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, Hussein could be executed before springtime.

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

Hussein and two other defendants face the death penalty for crimes against humanity for a years-long campaign of retribution against Shi'ite Muslim residents of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt in the town against him.

The two other defendants are Hussein's half-brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim Hasan, and former Revolutionary Court Judge Awad Bandar. A fourth defendant, former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, faces life imprisonment.

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

Both 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, Hussein will probably be put to death on the grounds of the fortress-like Abu Ghraib complex, site of the country's only gallows, said Hareb, who is also a defense attorney.

The military recently vacated the site, which became the scene of a prisoner abuse scandal in 2004 when pictures emerged showing American soldiers menacing and humiliating suspected insurgents held at the facility.

Hussein's 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 Hussein took place yesterday in several cities.