Muqtada al-Sadr, the fiery Shiite cleric and leader of his Mahdi militia, was the hangman of Saddam Hussein. Muqtada Al-Sadr placed the noose around Saddam Hussein’s neck and pulled the lever on the trap door. Al-Sadr and members of his Mahdi militia, consisting primarily of his personal bodyguards, were part of the group that was in attendance at the execution. Also included in the audience were Iraqi National Security Advisor, Mowaffak al-Rabaie, a close friend of Muqtada al-Sadr, and Iraqi Chief Prosecutor, Munquith al-Faroon.
This story begins with the friend of al-Sadr, Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rabaie. According to Newsweek in 2004,
"Mowaffak Al-Rubaie: Soft-spoken, bespectacled and courtly, this member of the Iraqi Governing Council once served as the international spokesman for a feared terrorist group. Now he's a key player in the New Iraq. He was there, one of only four Iraqi dignitaries present, when President George W. Bush dropped in at Baghdad airport for Thanksgiving turkey with the troops. He was there again, a few weeks later, when Saddam Hussein, freshly dragged from a "spider hole" near Tikrit, was forced to confront a few men who'd fought against him for decades. When al-Rubaie met the captured Saddam this month, his first question was why the dictator murdered two revered ayatollahs from the al-Sadr family. Saddam responded with a coarse joke."
In the early morning of December 30, 2006, al-Rabaie and al-Faroon were transported by US helicopter from the Green Zone to the gallows at the 5th Division intelligence office in Qadhimiya where Saddam was to be turned over to the Iraqi government for his execution.
Instead of being handed over to the Iraqi government, Saddam Hussein is given to Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi militia.
In an interview with Spiegel , Iraqi prosecutor al-Faroon states,
"SPIEGEL: Mr. Prosecutor, you were a witness to the execution of Saddam Hussein. What did you see and hear?
Faroon: I, together with 13 other official observers, was flown by helicopter from the Green Zone to the execution site. There were seven of us in each helicopter. We entered the execution chamber, where there were already four other people: the condemned man and three masked men. Two of these men prepared Saddam Hussein for the execution, and the third man later opened the trap door.
According to Reuters:
"a senior Interior Ministry official said the hanging was supposed to be carried out by hangmen employed by the Interior Ministry but that "militias" had managed to infiltrate the executioners' team."
"The execution was carried out by militias and outsiders. They put aside the team from the Interior Ministry that was supposed to carry it out," the official said."
A close examination of the execution videos provides evidence that the hooded gang of civilians was indeed Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi militia. As has been displayed in the media, there are two different videos of the execution. The official video covers the first minute. In the official video, Saddam is surrounded by six men, all but one wearing ski masks. The man without the mask is al-Rabaie. As National Security Advisor of Iraq he had no need to hide his face from Saddam. The three hangmen wear leather jackets - two of them brown jackets, and one black jacket. Wearing the black jacket with gloves is Muqtada al-Sadr wearing his trademark black. The others are bodyguards of al-Sadr, probably this group featured in Newsweek. Note the tall bodyguard in the background of both the video and the Newsweek photo.
Watching the official video, it is clear that Muqtada al-Sadr is the man in charge of the hanging. He turns around to his guards and requests the hood which he wants to place over Saddam’s head. His guards hurriedly look for the hood which is instead in the possession of al-Rabaie who passes it to al-Sadr. The black glove on al-Sadr’s right hand is now off. He looks to the video camera to make sure that the execution is being photographed. He attempts to place the hood over Saddam’s head while his fellow executioner implores Saddam to put it on. Saddam refuses the hood and instead allows it to be placed over his neck. He is led by al-Sadr to the trap door of the gallows. The noose is handed from the bodyguard to Muqtada al-Sadr who places it over the head of Saddam Hussein. Al-Sadr then poses for a photo with both his hands on the noose that is now around Saddam’s neck. A very large silver ring on the pinky finger of al-Sadr’s right hand is clearly visible. The official video ends.
The unofficial second video shot with a camera phone was never intended to be publicly released. It is extremely revealing in video and audio content. Taken from the front, the video reveals that after the before mentioned posing and still photo are taken, al-Sadr gives a signal by raising his silver ring finger on his right hand into the air which prompts his militia to begin a popular Shia chant, "Those who pray for Muhammad and the family of Muhammad have won!" Our God prays for Muhammad and the family of Muhammad." Others then add a part of the chant popularized by supporters of Muqtada al Sadr: "And speed his (the Mahdi's) return!" (According to Newsweek, "Moqtada al-Sadr is absolutely hooked on the concept of the reappearance of the Mahdi," says Amatzia Baram, the director of the Ezri Center at Haifa University.").
The gang continues, "And damn his enemies! And make his son victorious! Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!". During the chants, Muqtada al-Sadr is holding Saddam’s arm while facing his cheering militia. Saddam replies, "Muqtada?", laughs at the cheers, and then states, "Go to Hell", another chuckle, and then "Is this your bravery?".
As al-Sadr disappears behind Saddam and heads to the lever for the trap door, members of the militia trade insults with Saddam. One of the executioners in the brown jacket moves to the side of Saddam replacing al-Sadr so that Saddam is now flanked by the two in brown jackets. Someone is heard to shout "long live Muhammad Baqir al Sadr!" referring to an important Shia cleric who founded the Dawa Party and was also Muqtada's relative. Baqir al Sadr was executed by Saddam in 1980.
Saddam begins to pray...seconds later the trap door is opened and he is hanged.
It is later reported by CNN that the executioners and witnesses dance around the body of Saddam. al-Rabaie stated to CNN,
"This is the tradition of the Iraqis, when they do something, they dance around the body and they express their feelings."
According to the Saudi daily Al Riyad one of the masked men was indeed Moqtada Al Sadr. It has also been reported in the Arab Times that Muqtada al-Sadr has the noose that hung Saddam.
There is little question that the US delivered Saddam Hussein to Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi militia, and with the approval of Iraq’s National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rabaie and Iraqi chief prosecutor Munquith al-Faroon, al-Sadr swiftly executed him with his own hand.