Lawyers for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Friday made a last-minute appeal to an American court to avert execution in Iraq, asking a judge to block his transfer from US custody to the hands of Iraqi officials.

Hussein's lawyers filed documents Friday asking for an emergency restraining order aimed at stopping the US government from relinquishing custody of the condemned former Iraqi leader to Iraqi officials, a spokeswoman for a federal court in Washington DC said.

The documents were being processed and were not immediately made public. The Justice Department had not yet responded to the request.

While conflicting reports were still circulating Friday about when, exactly, Saddam was due to be executed, lawyers in the case said that the condemned former leader was no longer in US custody.

In Baghdad, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed the death sentence against Saddam, a government official said.

The physical hand-over of Saddam to Iraqi authorities was believed to be one of the last steps before he was to be hanged, although the lawyers' statement did not specifically say Saddam was in Iraqi hands.

"A few minutes ago we received correspondence from the Americans saying that President Saddam Hussein is no longer under the control of US forces," according to the statement faxed to The Associated Press.

Tom Casey, deputy spokesman at the US State Department, denied these reports, saying that according to information from the US Embassy in Baghdad, Saddam was still in American custody.

"I don't have any more details to offer you," he told reporters at the State Department. Casey reiterated the Bush administration's view that "we think it's very important there be acountability."

Casey said "it was up to the Iraqis" to formally request that Saddam be brought forward for execution. Asked when that might occur, Casey said, "I really don't have a timeline on this."

An Iraqi judge said Friday that Saddam Hussein would be executed by Saturday at the latest.

"Saddam will be executed today or tomorrow," said Munir Haddad, a judge on the appeals court that upheld the former dictator's death sentence. "All the measures have been done."

Haddad is authorized to attend the execution on behalf of the judiciary.

"I am ready to attend and there is no reason for delays," Haddad said.

Meanwhile, Yemen's prime minister urged the United States on Friday to intercede in the impending death sentence against Saddam.

In a letter to US President George W. Bush, Abdul-Qader Bagammal said that "The Yemeni government urges [him] to intercede to prevent this sentence from being carried out ... as it would lead to more internal strife and suffering for the Iraqi people."

they will kill him because Bush always wanted him dead 

 

i also believe that the courts that sentences him were kangaroo couurts 

 

 

pss but i also believe he was  guilty   but    he still did deserve a real court

notme wrote:

they will kill him because Bush always wanted him dead 

 

i also believe that the courts that sentences him were kangaroo couurts 

 

 

pss but i also believe he was  guilty   but    he still did deserve a real court

I pretty much believe the same... it should have been a non Bush trial; and as much as they SAID IT WAS, we know better.

Politics politics!

Politics politics!
 nope more like control control   it going to get worse

BREAKING NEWS

On Larry King live, They are watching for the last few min of saddam's execution. He says saddam's execution could happen at 11:00 pm our time 6:00am iraq time.

let get ready for another mass war