KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has described the execution of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein as barbaric, sadistic and a public murder.
In a statement yesterday, Dr Mahathir said the execution was sanctioned by US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom he labelled as war criminals.
He said the act of broadcasting the execution to the world on Saturday was a travesty of justice and meant to serve as a warning to peace-loving people that they must either bow to the dictates of the Bush administration or face the consequences of a public lynching.
Dr Mahathir, who is a member of International Committee for the Defence of Saddam, said the former Iraqi strongman’s trial process was a mockery of justice and no less a kangaroo court.
“Defence counsel were brutally murdered, witnesses threatened and judges removed for being impartial and replaced by puppet judges. Yet, we are told that Iraq was invaded to promote democracy, freedom and justice,” he said.
Dr Mahathir, a vocal opponent of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 when he was prime minister, said what happened now was that a peaceful country had been turned into a war zone.
“If Saddam is guilty of war crimes, then the world must find Bush, Blair and (Australian prime minister) John Howard equally guilty, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) cannot but prosecute these war criminals,” he said.
He said the inaction by the ICC against the three leaders thus exposed its double standard, as it did not hesitate to prosecute war crimes committed in Darfur, Rwanda and Kosovo. – Bernama
