Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. File
| Picture Credit score: AP
Iraq introduced on Monday (February 9, 2026) {that a} high-level safety officer throughout the rule of Saddam Hussein had been hanged for his involvement within the 1980 killing of a outstanding Shia cleric.
The Nationwide Safety Service mentioned that Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, who held the rank of Main Basic below Hussein and was arrested final 12 months, was convicted of “grave crimes towards humanity”, together with the killing of outstanding Iraqi Shia cleric Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, members of the al-Hakim household, and different civilians.
The company didn’t say when al-Qaisi was executed.
Al-Sadr was a number one critic of Iraq’s secular Ba’athist authorities and Hussein, his opposition intensifying following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which heightened Hussein’s fears of a Shia-led rebellion in Iraq.
In 1980, as the federal government moved towards Shia activists, al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda — a non secular scholar and activist who spoke out towards authorities oppression — have been arrested. Stories point out they have been tortured earlier than being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980.
The execution sparked widespread outrage on the time and stays a logo of repression below Saddam Hussein’s rule. Hussein was from Iraq’s Sunni minority.
Because the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, authorities have pursued former officers accused of crimes towards humanity and abuses towards political and non secular opponents. Iraq has confronted criticism from human rights teams over its software of the dying penalty.
Revealed – February 09, 2026 04:43 pm IST