Saddam's Last Hours

Saddam Hussein's execution was imminent last night as senior Iraqi officials finalised details of his hanging and indicated that it would probably take place shortly before dawn this morning. The Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, signed the former dictator's death sentence and at a late night meeting with US officials agreed the execution formalities.

An aide to the prime minister said the hanging would take place before 6am local time (3am GMT). An appeal court judge said he expected the ousted dictator to be hanged today, if not overnight. Judge Munir Haddad said he had been authorised to attend the execution on behalf of the Iraqi judiciary. "All the measures have been done. I am ready to attend and there is no reason for delay," he added.

Sources in Washington were more cautious, insisting that US forces had not yet handed Saddam over to the Iraqi authorities, though one senior Iraqi official said that would happen only at the last moment, "when he climbs the gallows".

Saddam, whose brutal tyranny menaced neighbouring countries and his own people for a quarter of a century, has been in US custody ever since he was captured three years ago in a small hole in the ground on the banks of the Tigris river.

The Americans were wary of handing him over before the final moment, lest he be humiliated or mistreated in such a way as to provoke an uprising. US forces in Iraq were already on high alert for a surge in violence following the execution.

Witnesses who were cleared to attend the execution gathered at the fortified green zone in Baghdad last night. It remained unclear where the former dictator would be executed.

Saddam, 69, was being held at Camp Cropper, an American military prison near Baghdad airport.

Having rejected the idea of hanging him before a live audience in a Baghdad football stadium, senior Iraqi figures insisted that public confirmation of the success of his execution was "very important". A source in the justice ministry said the proceedings would be recorded by a video-cameraman and a stills photographer. "It is probable that clips and images may be broadcast on national TV," the official said, adding: "Iraqis must see for themselves that the man who oppressed them for so long is dead ... But we will not turn the whole thing into a circus."

The former dictator was to learn of his impending execution by being handed a red card, a legal notice introduced during Saddam's own reign.

The most likely cause of any last-minute delay appeared to be a religious issue. Mr Maliki was reportedly awaiting advice from clerics on whether the start today of the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, meant the hanging should be postponed.

Two of Saddam's half brothers had already visited him in his jail cell where he gave them his will, according to Iraqi officials.

Khalil al-Dulaimi, who led Saddam's defence team until he was sentenced on November 5, said yesterday that the Americans had called and "asked me to pick up the personal effects". He predicted an execution at dawn today.

Another lawyer, Badie Aref, said Saddam had been "in very high spirits and clearly readying himself" during the meeting with his half-brothers. "He told them he was happy he would meet his death at the hands of his enemies and be a martyr, not just languish in jail.

On Tuesday, an Iraqi appeal court upheld his death sentence for the killing of 148 people who were detained after an attempt to assassinate him in the northern Iraqi city of Dujail in 1982. The court said he should be hanged within 30 days.

"Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him, and there will be no review or delay in carrying out the sentence," Mr Maliki said in comments released by his office. The Iraqi prime minister said those who opposed the execution of Saddam were insulting the honour of his victims. His office said he made the remarks in a meeting with families of people who died during Saddam's rule.