Iraq Executes Ex-Regime Officer Convicted of Killing Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr
In a statement, the National Security Service said Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, who held the rank of major general during Saddam’s rule and was arrested last year, was convicted of “grave crimes against humanity.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iraq announced on Monday that a former senior security officer under Saddam Hussein’s regime has been executed for his role in the 1980 killing of prominent Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr.
In a statement, the National Security Service said Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, who held the rank of major general during Saddam’s rule and was arrested last year, was convicted of “grave crimes against humanity.” The charges included involvement in the killing of al-Sadr, members of the al-Hakim family, and other civilians.
The agency did not specify the date of al-Qaisi’s execution.
Al-Sadr was a leading religious scholar and a vocal critic of Iraq’s Ba'athist government. His opposition intensified following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, which heightened concerns within Saddam’s regime over the possibility of a Shiite-led uprising in Iraq.
In 1980, as authorities launched a crackdown on Shiite activists, al-Sadr and his sister, Bint al-Huda — a religious scholar and activist known for speaking out against government repression — were arrested. According to multiple accounts, both were subjected to torture before being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980.
Their killing triggered widespread outrage at the time and has since remained a powerful symbol of repression under Saddam Hussein, who ruled Iraq through a Sunni-dominated government despite the country’s Shiite majority.
Following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam’s regime, Iraqi authorities have pursued former officials accused of crimes against humanity and abuses against political and religious opponents.