Three Arab leaders have met horrific deaths and millions of people have seen their dead bodies on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, all documented as historical moments.

Saddam's execution

On December 30, 2006, the same day as the Muslim Eid Al Adha celebration, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging after being accused of committing crimes against humanity.

The leaked video of his execution showed the last moments of Saddam’s life, where the Iraqi president appeared very calm, with no sign of fear on his face. He did not resist his fate, or the people leading him to the rope where he would meet his death very quietly.

The scene of his death, as many novels have accounted, was filmed with a mobile phone and lasts two minutes and 38 seconds. It was shown on a few Arab and foreign satellite channels.

Saddam Hussein appears with his hands tied behind his back while his sentence was read to him by one of the judges. Another judge asked him if he had any final words or wishes, to which Saddam replied that he would like to recite an Islamic creed declaring belief in the oneness of God.

The rope was then placed around his neck, and the sentence was carried out.

Iraqi TV channels revealed footage of Saddam’s corpse after he was hung to death. These scenes showed his body laid out on a bed, and wrapped in white cloth however the left side of his face was visible.

Iraqi television also aired footage of the actual hanging, and the scene where the rope was placed around Saddam’s neck. All moments that went down in history.

Qaddafi’s death

On October 20, 2011, only 8 months after the revolution against his rule, Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi, 69, was killed in his hometown Sirte. He was buried in the desert.

The video that was spread across social media showed armed individuals dragging Qaddafi out of a sewer pipe where he was hiding in his hometown Sirte.

Covered in blood, they walked him for a few steps shouting chants against him until a random bullet made him instantly fall to his death. His body was secretly moved and buried soon after.

Saleh's assassination

On a Monday evening, the Houthi militia announced the death of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh after they ambushed him in the Sanhan district near the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

The militia aired a video of Saleh’s corpse on its own satellite channels, and on their social media to confirm his death. Soon after, the General People’s Congress Party which was led by Saleh confirmed that the former president was indeed killed during a battle with the Houthis.

They stated that Saleh was shot in the head by a sniper, and blamed the Houthis for murdering him and flaunting his corpse.

As the detailed video spread on social media, it became the third Arab leader whose death was fully documented, leaked for millions to see.

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