Iraq considers first post-Saddam execution

BAGHDAD, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Iraqi officials say they are considering the country's first public execution since the fall of former President Saddam Hussein, who regularly staged them.

The case involves the murder of an 11-year-old Baghdad boy, Muntadher al-Mussewi, whose killers, the neighboring Aweni family, were convicted of kidnapping him, demanding ransom for his return, bludgeoning him to death and putting his body in an acid bath to destroy the evidence.

Iraqi government officials told Monday's Times of London they fear escalating violence if kidnapper Muhanned al-Aweni is not executed publicly.

The newspaper quoted police as saying they have already broken up an armed stand-off between the Mussewi and Aweni tribes, both of whom are reportedly connected to the top two Shia militia groups. Responding to pressure, the governor of Baghdad has declared his support for an execution, while an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has reportedly discussed an execution with members of the boy's tribe.

The consideration of the execution is coming despite the encouragement of Western countries that Iraq not hold public executions, which Saddam used to terrorize opponents. The Times said that on one day in 1999, at least 100 prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison were executed.