Believe it or not : The most justified and the least justified executions in history happened last week, at least the way I see it.
Yes. It is ironic, hard to believe and can not be missed. Two executions happened last week. One, I can without reservation call the most justified execution I have come across, heard about or read of. To me, for this criminal, I wish there were a more severe punishment than execution.
Ali Hassan Al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali, was a high ranking official in Saddam's regime. He attacked Kurdish civilians in Halabja with chemical gas, killing hundreds including women and children, in 1988. He was executed last week.
Ironically, and in the same week, the least justified execution- and the most cruel- happened in Iran where the regime of Ahmadinejad executed 2 young men who had participated in the anti-government demonstration.
What world is this, where a criminal who uses poison gas to kill women and children is equal to a peaceful demonstrator who demand freedom of expression and choice ?
What religion, law or custom is the hawkish regime of Ahmadinejad referring to in this execution ? It is certainly not the law of Islam. Islam is innocent of the crimes of this regime as much as it is the crimes of Chemical Ali.
The world, the US included, is focusing on Iranian nuclear weapons, but do not give adequate attention to these serious violations of human rights. Any person with the strongest heart and stomach must shake his head at the idea that the punishment for demonstrating is execution.
To me this side of Iran's Ahmadinejad is more dangerous than his nuclear weapons side.
Hamad S Alomar
Riyadh
