JNN 11 June 2012 Baghdad : Saddam’s personal secretary and chief bodyguard Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti was hanged for crimes of genocide relating to the suppression of Iraqi Shia Muslims during the 1980s.

Hmoud, a distant cousin of Saddam Hussein’s trusted personal secretary, Abed Hamid Mahmud, , When he was captured in 2003 by US-led coalition forces He was No. 4 on the U.S. most-wanted list in Iraq, after only Saddam and sons Qusai and Odai. He was known as the ace of diamonds on the U.S. deck of cards that ranked leaders of Saddam’s government.

He was executed by hanging on Thursday, the Iraqi Justice Minister, Haidar al-Saadi, said. “The Ministry of Justice implemented the execution sentence against the criminal [Mahmud]…for genocide,” Saadi added.

In his mid-50s, he was executed for persecuting members of the opposition and religious parties that were banned under Saddam, a court official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case with the media.

He was captured on June 16, 2003, and eventually sentenced to death on October 26, 2010.

The last previous execution of a former regime official took place in January 2010 when Saddam’s notorious cousin, known as “Chemical Ali,” was put to death by hanging. Saddam’s long-term foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, was sentenced to death in 2010 and awaits execution.

When in power, Saddam was rarely seen without Hmoud, who shadowed the president and was charged with handing down his orders to Iraqi ministries and ensuring his personal safety. Saddam’s regime killed tens of thousands of people in campaigns against minority Kurds and the Shi’ite majority.

Hamoud was the fifth former Saddam official to be executed in Iraq after the dictator.

Saddam Hussein was hanged on December 30, 2006.

He was arrested on June 16, 2003 and eventually sentenced to death on October 26, 2010 on charges of orchestrating a crackdown against rival political parties in the country in the 1980s and 1990s. The suppressive campaign included assassinations and unlawful detentions.

Iraq’s former Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz and former Interior Minister Saadun Shaker are also awaiting execution after they were handed death sentences alongside Mr Mahmud in October 2010.

The last execution of a former regime official took place in January 2010 when Saddam’s notorious cousin, known as “Chemical Ali” for his role in poison gas attacks, was put to death by hanging.