JURIST - Paper Chase: Saddam Hussein buried in hometown near Tikrit

[JURIST] Less than 24 hours after his execution [JURIST report], the body of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive; BBC obituary] was buried in his home village of Ouja [Newsweek backgrounder] near Tikrit just before dawn local time on Sunday. Among the dozens of relatives and other mourners present at the 25 minute interment ceremony were Mohammed al-Qaisi, governor of the Salahaddin region, and Ali al-Nida, head of Saddam's Albu Nasir tribe. Al-Qaisi along with leaders of Saddam's Albu-Nassir clan are said to have negotiated the burial location [AP report] with US and Iraqi officials.

After the burial, thousands of mourners are reported to have converged on Ouja to pay their respects in front of the flag-draped grave while a large photograph of Saddam was propped nearby. Saddam was buried in a family plot in the local cemetery, alongside his sons Uday and Qusay, who were killed by US troops [BBC News report] in 2003. Saddam's daughters had requested that he be temporarily buried in Yemen. Hussein was convicted and sentenced to death [JURIST report; verdict recorded video] last month for crimes against humanity committed in the town of Dujail in 1982. AP has more. The International Herald Tribune has additional coverage.

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