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Sultan Hashim's death sentence underscores Iraq's deep divisions - The National

Sultan Hashim's death sentence underscores Iraq's deep divisions - The NationalBAGHDAD // The transfer of a former Iraqi defence minister, convicted of crimes against humanity, to Baghdad where he is sentenced to death has reopened old wounds and is stoking simmering political tensions.

Sultan Hashim is one of five top officials from Saddam Hussein's regime sentenced to execution by Iraqi courts. Together with two of the former president's half-brothers and dozens of other senior prisoners, he was turned over from US to Iraqi custody this week, bringing the date of his death closer.

But, while there have been limited complaints about the impending execution of members of Saddam Hussein's family, Hashim's case has proven much more controversial, prompting outcry in political circles and among ordinary soldiers.

The objections produced an unusually quick reaction from Iraq's political elite and, on Wednesday, the presidency council announced it had stayed the execution of Hashim and Hussein Rasheed, a former army chief of staff. The reprieve was not extended to other prisoners facing capital punishment.

Hashim's case embodies many of the complex issues of sectarian and ethnic identity, nationalism, modern day politics and history that Iraq continues to struggle to accommodate.

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