Rights Group Criticizes Iraq Over Executions

Human Rights Watch says Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's defense of Saddam Hussein's December 30 execution and plans to execute two former Hussein-era officials show the government's "disregard for human rights and the rule of law."

Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program, said in a statement on January 7 that executing the two men "will only drag a deeply flawed process into even greater disrepute."

Human Rights Watch called on the Iraqi government to halt the upcoming executions of Hussein's half brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, Awad Hamed al-Bandar.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org