Imminent execution/possible death sentence

URGENT ACTION APPEAL

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15 January 2007
Further Information on UA 02/07 (04 January 2007)

Imminent execution/possible death sentence

IRAQ
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti (m) ] executed
'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-Sa'dun (m) ] executed
Taha Yassin Ramadhan (m)

Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-
Sa'dun were executed by hanging in the early hours of 15
January. The two had been sentenced to death on 5 November
2006, after an unfair trial before the Supreme Iraqi
Criminal Tribunal (SICT). They were sentenced in connection
with the killing of 148 people from the village of al-
Dujail, north of Baghdad, after a failed attempt to
assassinate former president Saddam Hussain in 1982.

Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti is Saddam Hussain's half-brother,
and was the head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the
Mukhabarat, from 1979 to 1983. 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-
Sa'dun was the head of the Revolutionary Court. Saddam
Hussain was executed by hanging on 30 December 2006.

There is still no new information about former vice-
president, Taha Yassin Ramadhan, who received a life
sentence. However, he remains at risk of execution after the
SICT's Appeals Chamber referred the case back to the court
on 26 December 2006, requesting a more stringent sentence.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International welcomed the decision to bring Saddam
Hussain to justice for the human rights violations committed
by his government, but this should have been through a fair
trial process and without recourse to the death penalty. In
the event, the trial, which opened in October 2005 in
Baghdad, was unfair. It was marked by political interference
and was widely criticized for failing to satisfy
international standards for fair trial. No adequate measures
were taken to ensure the protection of witnesses and defense
lawyers, three of whom were assassinated during the course
of the trial. Amnesty International raised its concerns
about the trial of Saddam Hussain and others before the SICT
on several occasions.

Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in Iraq in
August 2004, scores of people have been sentenced to death
and there has been a rapid rise in the number of executions,
with at least 65 people put to death in 2006 alone, many of
them after trials which may have been unfair.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- deploring the execution of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and
'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-Sa'dun;
- expressing concern that the trial of Barzan Ibrahim al-
Tikriti, Taha Yassin Ramadhan and 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-
Sa'dun before the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal failed to
meet international fair trial standards;
- expressing concern that the Appeals Chamber has rejected
Taha Yassin Ramadhan's sentence of life imprisonment and
apparently requested that he be sentenced to death;
- recognizing the right of governments to bring to justice
those responsible for serious crimes but insisting that this
be done through fair trial and without resort to the death
penalty;
- calling on the authorities to commute all death sentences
and take steps to abolish the death penalty in law and
practice.

APPEALS TO: Fax numbers and e-mail addresses for the Iraqi
authorities are not available. Please send appeals via the
Iraqi embassy or diplomatic representative in your country,
asking them to forward your appeals to:

President:
Jalal Talabani
Salutation: Your Excellency

Prime Minister:
Nuri Kamil al-Maliki
E-mail: iraqigov@yahoo.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Justice:
Hashim al-Shibli
E-mail: minister@iraqi-justice.org
head-minister@iraqi-justice.org
deputy@iraqi-justice.org
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Hoshyar Zebari
E-mail: press@iraqmofa.net
Salutation: Your Excellency


COPIES TO: Ask the Iraqi embassy or diplomatic
representative to send copies to the Human Rights Minister,
Wajdan Mikhail.

His Excellency Samir Sumaida'ie
Ambassador to the United States
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
1801 P Street
Washington DC 20036
email: amboffice@iraqiembassy.org
fax: 1 202 462 5066
phone: 1 202 483 7500




PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the Urgent
Action Office if sending appeals after 26 February 2007.
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL