Iraq executes former security officer for the 1980 killing of prominent cleric, sister

BAGHDAD — Iraq announced on Monday that a high-level security officer under Saddam Hussein has been executed for his involvement in the 1980 killing of prominent Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr and other grave crimes.The National Security Service said that Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, who held the rank of major general under Saddam and was arrested last year, was convicted of “grave crimes against humanity,” including the killing of Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, members of the al-Hakim family, and other civilians.The agency did not say when al-Qaisi was executed.Al-Sadr was a leading critic of Iraq’s secular Baathist government and Saddam, his opposition intensifying following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which heightened Saddam’s fears of a Shiite-led uprising in Iraq.In 1980, as the government moved against Shiite activists, al-Sadr and his sister Amina Al-Sadr, known as Bint al-Huda, were arrested. Reports indicate they were tortured before being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980.A security source revealed last year Al-Qaisi personally transported Al-Sadr and his sister to an area now known as Bismayah, south of Baghdad, where he executed them with the assistance of aide. The execution sparked widespread outrage at the time and remains a symbol of repression under Saddam’s rule. Al-Qaisi fled to Syria after the regime’s collapse in 2003, but he later returned to Iraq, settling in Erbil.Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, authorities have pursued former officials accused of crimes against humanity and abuses against political and religious opponents. Iraq has faced criticism from human rights groups over its application of the death penalty. — Agencies