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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Iraq investigates Saddam footage | Iraq investigates Saddam footage |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The Iraqi government has launched an inquiry into unofficial mobile phone footage showing the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. | The Iraqi government has launched an inquiry into unofficial mobile phone footage showing the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. |
| The mobile phone footage showed he exchanged taunts and insults with witnesses at his hanging on Saturday. | The mobile phone footage showed he exchanged taunts and insults with witnesses at his hanging on Saturday. |
| The grainy video showed the former leader being told to "go to hell" by someone attending the hanging. | The grainy video showed the former leader being told to "go to hell" by someone attending the hanging. |
| UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the circumstances of the execution were "deplorable". | UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the circumstances of the execution were "deplorable". |
| Do you consider this bravery? Saddam Hussein, on new video Video shows execution taunts John Simpson analysis | Do you consider this bravery? Saddam Hussein, on new video Video shows execution taunts John Simpson analysis |
| The Iraqi authorities fear the footage, released on the internet hours after the execution, could contribute to a dramatic rise in sectarian tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shia communities. | The Iraqi authorities fear the footage, released on the internet hours after the execution, could contribute to a dramatic rise in sectarian tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shia communities. |
| "There were a few guards who shouted slogans that were inappropriate and that's now the subject of a government investigation," an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, Sami al-Askari, told Reuters news agency. | "There were a few guards who shouted slogans that were inappropriate and that's now the subject of a government investigation," an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, Sami al-Askari, told Reuters news agency. |
| Chants and insults | Chants and insults |
| Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. | Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. |
| He was executed before dawn on Saturday in Baghdad and buried near his hometown of Tikrit a day later. | He was executed before dawn on Saturday in Baghdad and buried near his hometown of Tikrit a day later. |
| I think whoever was involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves John Prescott Death scenes 'deplorable' | I think whoever was involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves John Prescott Death scenes 'deplorable' |
| The Iraq authorities released official footage of the execution, to prove to the public that Saddam Hussein was dead. | The Iraq authorities released official footage of the execution, to prove to the public that Saddam Hussein was dead. |
| But that film did not include any sound and did not show the actual moment of death. | But that film did not include any sound and did not show the actual moment of death. |
| The grainy mobile phone footage that emerged hours later was shot from below the gallows. | The grainy mobile phone footage that emerged hours later was shot from below the gallows. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY I lived through the bloody war that Saddam started with Iran. But still I am not happy with Saddam's execution Alireza Pahlavani, Tehran href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5096&start=0&edition=2&ttl=20061230062955" class="">Send us your comments As Saddam Hussein is led towards the trapdoor, one of the unseen observers shouts "go to hell". | |
| Others can be heard chanting the name of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and of Muhammad Sadiq Sadr, his father who was murdered by Saddam Hussein's agents. | Others can be heard chanting the name of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and of Muhammad Sadiq Sadr, his father who was murdered by Saddam Hussein's agents. |
| In response Saddam Hussein is sarcastic, asking "do you consider this bravery?" | In response Saddam Hussein is sarcastic, asking "do you consider this bravery?" |
| 'Unacceptable' | 'Unacceptable' |
| In a BBC interview, John Prescott called it "deplorable" and "totally unacceptable" that video clips of the execution had surfaced on the internet. | In a BBC interview, John Prescott called it "deplorable" and "totally unacceptable" that video clips of the execution had surfaced on the internet. |
| Mr Prescott is in charge while Prime Minister Tony Blair is on holiday. | Mr Prescott is in charge while Prime Minister Tony Blair is on holiday. |
| "I think the manner was quite deplorable really," he said. "I don't think one can endorse in any way that, whatever your views about capital punishment. | "I think the manner was quite deplorable really," he said. "I don't think one can endorse in any way that, whatever your views about capital punishment. |
| "Frankly, to get the kind of recorded messages coming out is totally unacceptable, and I think whoever was involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves." | "Frankly, to get the kind of recorded messages coming out is totally unacceptable, and I think whoever was involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves." |