Maliki wants to punish leaker of Saddam film

1-3-2007

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki wants to punish a senior official who filmed Saddam Hussein's execution then leaked the footage showing him taunted by Shiite guards.

"He's very serious about this inquiry, and he wants to punish whoever is responsible," said a Shiite lawmaker with close links to the premier on Wednesday.

A second deputy who attended Saturday's execution himself, Sami al-Askari, said that Maliki had ordered a three-strong panel of officials to find which of the guests at the hanging filmed it using a mobile phone.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf also confirmed the setting up of the committee and said "it is working secretly and we can't give details."

"Whoever is responsible for leaking the film will be punished."

On Tuesday, Munqith al-Faroon, the prosecutor who oversaw the execution, said in an interview broadcast on Al-Jazeera: "There were only two people who had mobile phones inside the room. I don't want to say their names."

"They were senior government officials," he said.

Aside from Askari, who has denied filming, there were a handful of other officials present at the ousted dictator's hanging, including National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, who was not available for comment.

The unofficial video has triggered a raging controversy in Iraq with angry outbursts from Sunni Arab loyalists of Saddam and also heavy criticisms from international leaders. (AFP)

VIDEO OF SADDAM'S EXECUTION (Warning Graphic Content)