Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti (; 17 February 1951 – 15 January 2007), also known as Barzan Hassan, was an Iraqi politician, diplomat and intelligence officer. He was one of three
half-brothers of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
and served as the leader of the
Mukhabarat, the
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i intelligence service.
As the head of the Mukhabarat, he was responsible for ordering the killings of
dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...
s. Despite falling out of favour with Saddam at one time, he was believed to have been a close presidential adviser at the time of his capture by
U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
forces in 2003. On 15 January 2007, Barzan was
hanged for
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
. He was
decapitated by the
hangman's rope after errors were made calculating his body weight and length of drop from the
platform.
Early and personal life
Barzan İbrahim al-Tikriti was born in 1951 (or 1950) in
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ) is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000.
Originally created as a f ...
. His full name was Barazan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Barasan Ibrahem Alhassen. In 1968, he accompanied his half brother Saddam during the
17 July Revolution
The 17 July Revolution () was a bloodless coup in Iraq in 1968 led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Abd ar-Razzaq an-Naif, and Abd ar-Rahman al-Dawud that ousted List of Presidents of Iraq, President Abdul Rahman Arif and Prime Minister of Iraq, Pri ...
.
Head of the Mukhabarat
Barzan was a leading figure in the Mukhabarat, the intelligence service that performed the role of
secret police
image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression.
Secre ...
from the 1970s, and later took over as director. During his time in the secret police, Barzan played a key role in the Iraqi regime's execution of opponents at home and assassinations abroad. He was also known for his ruthlessness and brutality in purging the
Iraqi military of anyone seen as disloyal.
Barzan became Iraq's representative to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
—including the UN
Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per ye ...
—in 1989. He was in Geneva for almost a decade, during which he is believed to have managed clandestine accounts for Saddam's overseas fortune.
Swiss intelligence services alleged that Barzan controlled the al Tikriti family's vast wealth through the
canton of Ticino
Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzo ...
headquartered firm ''Mediterranean Enterprises Development Projects'' (MEDP).
Swiss attorney Alain Bionda represented Barzan's interests in Switzerland.
[ In the 1990s, ]Swiss National Bank
The Swiss National Bank (SNB; ; ; ; ) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy and the sole issuer of Swiss franc banknotes. The primary goal of its mandate is to ensure price stability, while taking econ ...
estimated Barzan's fortune at 462million Swiss francs
The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) i ...
.[ Barzan's son, Muhammad, who was the Geneva representative of the Iraqi national airline Iraqi Airways, is the direct heir of the al Tikriti clan.][
]U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
officials characterized Barzan as a member of what they called "Saddam's Dirty Dozen", responsible for torture and mass murder in Iraq. Barzan was the five of clubs (queen of hearts according to CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
) in the U.S military's most-wanted Iraqi playing cards.
Human rights violations
Barzan was said to have been noted for his cruelty. According to Indict, a US-backed organisation based in London which advocated for Iraqi war crimes tribunal, he was personally responsible for murdering and torturing scores of innocent people, including the inhabitants of one entire village, while he was head of the secret service. He was said to have used methods such as whipping with electrical cords and would often oversee torture. During the trial one woman testified that after her arrest she was stripped naked and tied up by her feet before the intelligence chief kicked her in the chest repeatedly. Ahmed Hassan, another prosecution witness, described being taken to an interrogation facility in Baghdad and seeing a meat grinder for human flesh. He allegedly shot an agent of his for buying a bottle of duty-free wine without asking permission.
Post-invasion
Barzan was among the leadership figures U.S. forces targeted during the Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. In April 2003, warplanes dropped six satellite-guided bombs on a building in the Iraqi city of Ramadi
Ramadi ( ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate which shares borders with Syri ...
, west of Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, where he was thought to be. U.S. Army Special Forces captured Barzan alive on 17 April 2003; the news was publicly confirmed late summer 2003, with Barzan surrounded by a large entourage of bodyguards in Baghdad. He was turned over to Iraq's Interim Government on 30 June 2004, and arraigned on 1 July 2004.
Trial and courtroom charges
Barzan's trial started on 19 October 2005. He was a defendant in the Iraq Special Tribunal's Al-Dujail trial, and Abd al-Semd al-Husseini was his defense counsel. In the first stage of the trial, Barzan stood before a five-judge panel for the Dujail Massacre. He was charged for crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
, simultaneously with seven other former high officials (Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yassin Ramadan al-Jazrawi (; 20 February 1938 – 20 March 2007) was an Iraqi military officer and politician who served as the vice president of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003 and the commander of the Pop ...
, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
, Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Abdullah Kadhem Roweed Al-Musheikhi, Ali Daeem Ali, Mohammed Azawi Ali and Mizher Abdullah Roweed Al-Musheikhi). They were said to have ordered and overseen the killings, in July 1982, of more than 140 Shiite
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
men from Dujail, a village 35 miles north of Baghdad. The men were allegedly killed in retribution after an 8 July 1982 attack on the presidential motorcade as it passed through the village. It was alleged that, in addition to the killings, hundreds of women and children from the town were jailed for years in desert internment camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
s, and that date palm
''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...
groves, which sustained the local economy and were the families' livelihood, were destroyed.
During the first court session on 19 October 2005, Barzan pleaded not guilty. During his trial, he became known for his angry outbursts in court and was ejected on several occasions.
In the weeks following the first audience, serious security concerns for the defense team of Saddam and the other accused became apparent. On 21 October 2005, 36 hours after the first hearing, a group of unidentified armed men dragged one of the defense attorneys from his office in east Baghdad and shot him dead. A few days later, a second lawyer was killed in a drive-by shooting, and a third, injured in that attack, subsequently fled Iraq for sanctuary in Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
.
As a result, calls for the trial to be held abroad were heard. The defense lawyers, supported by the Iraqi Bar Association, imposed a boycott on the trial until their security concerns were met with specific measures. A few days before the trial was to resume, the defense team announced that it had accepted offers of protection from Iraqi and U.S. officials and would appear in court on 28 November 2005. The agreement is said to have included the same level of protection offered to the Iraqi judges and prosecutors, with measures such as armored cars and teams of bodyguards.
After a short court session on 28 November 2005, during which some testimony regarding the killings in Dujail was presented, Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin ordered a one-week adjournment until 5 December, to grant the defense teams time to find new counsel.
On 12 March 2006, the prosecutor announced that if Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants were sentenced to death in the Dujail case, the sentence would be carried out as soon as possible. Thus, the other cases for which they were indicted would not be heard in court. On 19 June 2006, the prosecutor asked the court, in his closing arguments, that the death penalty be imposed upon Barzan, Saddam, and Ramadan.
On 5 November 2006, Barzan was sentenced to death by hanging.
Appeals
A sentence of death or life imprisonment generates an automatic appeal. On 3 December 2006, the defense team lodged an appeal against the verdicts for Barzan, Saddam, and al-Bander, who had been sentenced to death. On 26 December 2006, the appeals chamber confirmed the verdict and the death sentence against Barzan.
In November 2006, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani appealed for Barzan to be moved to medical facilities to receive treatment for his spinal cancer. Barzan originally made an appeal from his cell to U.S. President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and to Talabani for treatment, referring to the latter as an "old friend".
Botched execution
On 15 January 2007, the death sentence was carried out. Barzan, along with co-defendants Saddam Hussein and the former Chief Justice of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court al-Bandar, were sentenced to death by hanging
Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
. Barzan was originally scheduled to hang on 30 December with Saddam (as he and al-Bandar wished) but due to the Eid, lack of time, and lack of a helicopter to deliver them, as well as international pressure, the hangings were postponed to 15 January. Barzan's sentence was carried out at 03:00 local time (00:00 UTC) on 15 January 2007. His death was confirmed at 3:05/00:05 UTC. Barzan was decapitated by the long drop, the accidental result of the hangman using a rope that was too long. As with Saddam's hanging, Barzan's and al-Bandar's counsel was not allowed to attend.
Reaction to the execution
On 15 January, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
said in a news conference with the Egyptian foreign minister: "We were disappointed there was not greater dignity given to the accused under these circumstances."
In a press briefing by British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
's official spokesman, in response to a question as to Blair's reaction to the "botched hanging" in Iraq, the spokesman said: "In terms of the death penalty in Iraq, our position on the death penalty is well known, and we had made that position known to the Iraqi Government again since the death of Saddam Hussein. However, Iraq is a sovereign Government, and therefore has a right under international law to decide its own policy on the death penalty."
Barzan's son-in-law, Azzam Saleh Abdullah, said:[ "We heard the news from the media. We were supposed to have the information a day earlier, but it seems that the government does not know the rules." He said the execution reflected the hatred felt by the Shiite-led government: "They still want more Iraqi bloodshed. To hell with democracy."
]
See also
* Omar al-Tikriti – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti's nephew
*Execution of Saddam Hussein
Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was executed on 30 December 2006. Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the Dujail massacre—the killing of 148 Iraq ...
* Capital punishment in Iraq
*Hanging
Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
– section on "long drop" method
* U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis
Notes
References
*
External links
globalsecurity article on Barzan Ibrahim El-Hasan al-Tikriti
Saddam’s Half-Brother Barzan Al-Tikriti Captured
by DEBKAfile, 20 April 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tikriti, Barzan Ibrahim Al-
1951 births
2007 deaths
21st-century executions by Iraq
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region politicians
Deaths by decapitation
Directors of intelligence agencies
Executed Iraqi people
Executed mass murderers
Executed military leaders
Executed politicians
Iraq War prisoners of war
Iraqi generals
Iraqi mass murderers
Iraqi people convicted of crimes against humanity
Iraqi politicians convicted of crimes
Iraqi prisoners of war
People executed by Iraq by hanging
People executed for crimes against humanity
People from Tikrit
Politicide perpetrators
Permanent representatives of Iraq to the United Nations Office at Geneva
Tulfah family
Torturers