Baghdad clamps down ahead of Saddam verdict

updated 9:22 p.m. ET Nov. 4, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces drastically tightened security across Baghdad on Saturday in advance of the expected guilty verdict against Saddam Hussein, and the Iraqi prime minister said he hoped the ousted dictator will “get what he deserves.”

Saddam has been on trial for murder and crimes against humanity and, if convicted, could be sentenced to death by hanging. Violence is already running high, with police finding the bodies of 87 torture victims throughout the capital between 6 a.m. Thursday and 6 p.m. Friday. Across Iraq, at least 16 people were killed or found dead on Saturday.

The highly anticipated verdict, planned for Sunday, is expected to set off further bloodshed, underscoring the trial’s failure to bring reconciliation to a country fractured ever deeper along sectarian lines.

“We hope that the verdict will give this man what he deserves for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people,” said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has declared he hoped Saddam would be hanged.

“The Iraqi people will express their happiness in a way they see fit and we will call on the Iraqi people through a broadcast statement to remain calm and express their happiness in an appropriate way in this current situation, in a way that does not risk their lives,” the Shiite prime minister said after a meeting with tribal leaders from the restive southern city of Amarah.

An aide to al-Maliki said authorities are imposing a 12-hour curfew on Baghdad and three surrounding provinces starting at 6 a.m. Sunday. Not just cars, but people will be barred from the streets. Baghdad’s airport also will be closed.

Curfew imposed
The curfew will cover all of Baghdad province, Salahuddin province, which includes Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit, and the Sunni insurgent hotbeds of Diyala and Anbar provinces.

Leave for all military personnel has been canceled indefinitely and vacationing soldiers recalled to active duty.

New checkpoints sprang up around main roads, including within the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses Iraqi government offices and the U.S. and British embassies. Larger than usual numbers of policemen and U.S. troops patrolled city streets, while U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicles blocked traffic on both sides of the al-Jumhuriyah Bridge, one of the capital’s most heavily guarded because it carries traffic past the Green Zone.

“We received orders to tighten security measures and to use any available policemen to tighten the security,” police Lt. Ali Abbas said.

Any violence would be met with a stern response, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which commands the police.

“We warn anyone who intends to exploit this event that our response will be tough and severe,” police Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf told The Associated Press without elaborating.

Many of Saddam’s fellow Sunni Arabs are predicting a firestorm if the ex-president is sentenced to death. On the other hand, majority Shiites, who were persecuted under Saddam but now dominate the government, are likely to be enraged if he escapes the gallows.

Setting the tone, al-Maliki, said last month that a conviction for Saddam would help break the will of the former dictator’s followers in the largely Sunni Arab-led insurgency.

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