Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) –Saddam Hussein’s right hand man, Taha Yassin Ramadan, was put to death before dawn this morning in Baghdad, on the fourth anniversary of the American intervention in Iraq.  The Special Iraqi tribunal had condemned the former vice president to capital punishment for his involvement in the massacre of 148 Shiites in 1982.

“It was nota n execution: it was a political assassination”, said Ahmad, Ramadan’s son from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.   He said his father would be buried in or near the Iraqi city of Tikrit, near Saddam's burial place.

Last November Ramadan was condemned to life imprisonment for his involvement in the crackdown on the Shiite community of Dujail, following a failed attempt to assassinate the ex raìs. Following an appeal the sentence was converted to the death penalty.  The accused – who also stood charges for the massacre of hundreds of Kurds in 1988 – maintained that he was innocent.  Both Saddam and his half brother Barzan Ibrahim, were also put to death for Dujail, Sddam on December 30 2006 - al-Tikriti -  January 15th 2007.

Iraqi Premier al-Maliki’s office states that  “the execution was smooth with no violation”; in an obvious reference to Saddam’s execution whose body was subjected to the outrage of his executioners, and the hanging of al-Tikriti, who was beheaded during his execution.

Originally from  Mosul, Ramadan was born in the late 1930’s; he was vice president when Saddam’s regime was toppled from power.  The former leader participated in the coup that overcame the ruling Baath party in 1968.