AGI – The image of an elderly, frightened man with a beard, unkempt hair and a few wounds on his forehead goes around the world December 14, 2003. More specifically, the night before 20 years ago, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was identified and arrested by American soldiers who have been in Iraq since March. The end of his long reign came eight months earlier, when a $25,000 reward was offered on the fugitive dictator's head, which was probably crucial to his capture.
© AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP
On December 16, 2003, a “brochure” was distributed announcing the dictator’s capture. On December 16, 2003, a “pamphlet” was circulated announcing the dictator's capture
L'Invasion of Iraq by American troops dates back to the previous month of March, in the wake of the war against Islamic terrorism George W Bush unleashed in response to the September 11, 2001 attack. Saddam's Iraq is burdened with the accusation Possess “weapons of mass destruction.”: The dictator excluded him until the end, and the accusation will prove to be unfounded and will be used to justify Bush's US attack on the Middle Eastern country.
© HO/AFP
“Beheaded” head of the dictator statue, Baghdad, 2003 “Beheaded” head of the dictator statue, Baghdad, 2003
Statues of Saddam, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist and cultivated a cult of personality for nearly 24 years, were already being torn down across the country when American soldiers found him hiding in a cramped underground shelter under a ditch in the village of Al Dawr, on the banks of the Tigris in the Tikrit area, north of Baghdad: his hometown and the last stronghold of his followers. Given the poor hygienic conditions, Saddam appeared older than his 66 years when he was found.
© NICHOLAS ROBERTS / AFP
The photo of Hussein after capture, in newspapers around the world. The photo of Hussein after capture, in newspapers around the world
He wears a long light tunic and an old blue jacket, with a scarf around his neck. His hair, still black, is shoulder length and his gray beard is unkempt. The bloodthirsty and ruthless former leader doesn't even attempt to use the weapons left to him by those who hid him in the tunnel, instead begging the US military “not to shoot.” After the capture, which took place without bloodshed, he will spend more than three years in prisonbefore he was sentenced to death in a trial for crimes against humanity and then hanged on December 30, 2006.
Then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed his death warrant. He was originally buried in Tikrit, but to prevent the site from becoming a pilgrimage destination, he was later moved elsewhere. The daughter repeatedly hoped for the “return to Iraq” of her father's remains, but three years ago, according to then Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the remains were taken to the green area of Baghdad, exactly where the government offices were .
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