(no subject)

[mrph]

Saddam Hussein has confessed to crimes during his regime - including executions - and deserves to die, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has said.

Mr Talabani told Iraqi state TV a judge "was able to extract confessions" from the ousted leader.

Saddam's scum - no argument there. But that speech sounds more like something we'd expect to hear from him than from a new, democratic government, doesn't it? Especially as his trial hasn't actually started yet.

Comments

[the-lady-lily.livejournal.com]

Hmm. In a way, I was - well, not surprised, because my guess is that the lawyers and so forth have been chatting and waiting to see what the deal is, and may have persuaded Saddam that this is the most sensible way to go. However, Mr Talabani has also said that there is video footage of the admission being made. I hope that is made public, mainly because it should allow us to make our own judgement on the seriousness of such a confession. Plus, when he gets into the witness box at the trial, we may find the confession rescinded immediately. You just don't know, and to be honest I think something like this was to be expected under the circumstances (after all, it also provides a good morale-booster for the state).

What's rather more interesting is the debate on the death penalty. Good for Mr Talabani refusing to sign a warrant for it.