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International

Iraqis Rejoice, Rage over Saddam's Sentence

By John Ydstie,  JJ Sutherland
Published November 5, 2006 at 7:07 AM PST
An Iraqi man in Najaf carries a picture of the leader of the Supreme council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq party, Shiite cleric Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, as he celebrates the guilty verdict.
Saad Serhan / Getty Images
An Iraqi man in Najaf carries a picture of the leader of the Supreme council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq party, Shiite cleric Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, as he celebrates the guilty verdict.

Iraqi reaction to Saddam Hussein's sentencing broke down almost completely along sectarian lines.

In Baghdad, mass demonstrations took place in Shiite neighborhoods, with people firing guns into the air and waving banners.

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In Sunni areas, pro-Saddam demonstrators took to the streets. All of this despite a curfew banning all vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Elsewhere in the country the pattern repeated itself. In the mainly Shiite southern port city of Basra, and the Shiite holy city of Najaf, demonstrators took to the streets in celebration.

But in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit and other Sunni cities, including the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, angry demonstrators denounced the sentence.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

International
John Ydstie
John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.
JJ Sutherland
JJ Sutherland covers the Pentagon for NPR. Since 2004 he has regularly spent time in Iraq as part of NPR's award-winning team of reporters and producers who have dedicated themselves to covering the conflict.
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