Iraq executes a former senior officer under Saddam for the 1980 killing of a Shiite cleric
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq announced Monday that a senior security official has been appointed during the Iraqi administration. Saddam Hussein He was executed in 1980 for his involvement in the murder of a prominent Shiite cleric.
The National Security Service said that Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, who held the rank of major general during the Saddam period, was killed. was arrested last yearHe was found guilty of “grave crimes against humanity”, including the murder of prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqer al-Sadr, members of the al-Hakim family and other civilians.
The agency did not say when al-Qaisi was executed.
Al-Sadr was a leading critic of Iraq’s secular Baathist government and Saddam, and his opposition intensified after: 1979 Iranian Islamic RevolutionThis increased Saddam’s fears of a Shiite-led uprising in Iraq.
In 1980, when the government took action against Shiite activists, Sadr and his sister, Bint al-Huda, a religious scholar and activist who spoke out against government repression, were arrested. Reports indicate that they were tortured before being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980.
The execution sparked widespread outrage at the time and remains a symbol of oppression under Saddam’s rule. Saddam was from Iraq’s Sunni minority.
Since then 2003 US-led invasion of IraqAuthorities pursued former officials accused of crimes against humanity and abuses against political and religious opponents. Iraq has faced criticism from human rights groups for its implementation of the death penalty.
