Saddam Hussein’s last moments
In the wake of the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a fuller picture has gradually emerged of how his final moments played out.
In an interview with the BBC, one of the witnesses, Judge Munir Haddad, gave a detailed account of what he saw, painting a picture of a man defiant to the end.
Official video released within hours of the execution - without audio - showed what appeared to be a subdued, compliant Saddam Hussein on the gallows being readied for execution. It did not show the hanging itself.
Yet a second video, shot on a mobile phone by an onlooker below the scaffold - revealed an angry scene in which witnesses hurled insults at the former leader and he in turned mocked them. It also showed the moment of death.
The hanging took place at around 0600 local time (0300GMT) on 30th December, 2006, before the sun had risen.
A small group of Iraqis had gathered to witness the event at a compound known by the Americans as Camp Justice in the Baghdad suburb of Khadimiya - a facility where under Saddam’s regime many dissidents were executed.
Saddam Hussein was brought into the concrete-lined execution chamber, surrounded by men in black ski masks.
Dressed in a white shirt and dark suit and overcoat, he was handcuffed with his hands in front of him and carried a copy of the Qur’an in his hands, which he asked to be given to a friend.
A judge then read out the death sentence.
Judge Haddad described what happened next:
“One of the guards present asked Saddam Hussein whether he was afraid of dying.
`Saddam’s reply was that ‘I spent my whole life fighting the infidels and the intruders’, and another guard asked him: ‘Why did you destroy Iraq and destroy us? You starved us and you allowed the Americans to occupy us.’
``His reply was, ‘I destroyed the invaders and the Persians and I destroyed the enemies of Iraq... and I turned Iraq from poverty into wealth.’
``He said: ‘This is my end... this is the end of my life. But I started my life as a fighter and as a political militant - so death does not frighten me.’”
``Saddam Hussein’s handcuffs were removed and his hands bound behind his back and his feet shackled. Then he was taken upstairs to the top of the gallows platform.
“He was reciting, as it was his custom, ‘God is Great!’ and also some political slogans like: ‘Down with the Americans!’ and ‘Down with the Invaders!’,” Judge Haddad said.
“He said: ‘‘We’re going to Heaven and our enemies will rot in Hell.
``And he also called for forgiveness and love amongst Iraqis, but also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the Americans and the Persians.”