MOSCOW, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - The execution of two former Saddam Hussein aides demonstrates nothing more than a desire to get rid of unwelcome political leaders by any means, a senior Russian parliamentary official said Monday.
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraq's former intelligence head and Hussein's half-brother, and former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander were hanged early Monday for the mass killing of Shiite men following an assassination attempt on the Iraqi dictator in 1982.
The execution was held a fortnight after Saddam's own execution.
"The situation leaves no doubt that the enforcement of the death sentence for Saddam Hussein's aides was neither an act of reprisal nor an act of justice, but most likely personal revenge or the desire to get rid of any political leaders who could consolidate opposition forces in Iraq," said Konstantin Kosachev, head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee.
He said that those who made the decision did not consider the continually deteriorating situation in the country, which is on the brink of a civil war. He stressed that the executions could negatively affect prospects for stabilization and the resumption of normal political processes in the country.
"The execution of Iraq's former president and his aides will radicalize sentiments in the opposition camp, and new executions will only fuel the trend," Kosachev said.
