Q: Were any letters written to Rana and Raghad? What were his last words? And do they have any message that they want to tell people about what it's been like for them?
Khalil: Yesterday [Friday], the lawyer called who met with the president [Saddam Hussein] on the 28th for two hours from 10 to 12. They said he was very strong, very powerful. … They were distracted and not happy, and he was giving the attorneys moral support and telling them, "If this is my fate, let it be," and he sent his regard to all the lawyers -- Ramsey Clarke, the foreign lawyers, the Arab lawyers. He thanked them for risking their lives to defend him and everything. And they asked him if he wanted to send letters to his family. He said just send them my regards. And he said he had sat with his two brothers. And at some time while the lawyer was there, an American doctor came to him and asked if he wanted medication to make him feel comfortable, and the president laughed and said his morale was high and he didn't need any medication.
Also, he told us that the day before he had a radio that was given to him by the Americans, and they told him the radio had some problems and they took it from him. And he knew that his hanging was near because they didn't want him to know his hanging was coming, so they took the radio away. So he knew it was coming.
Q: In the last day, was there anything special he asked for, any special meals? We know he gave a holy Koran at his execution to someone. Did he pass on any additional messages? What did he want to tell the world before he died?
Khalil: He did not ask for anything specific. He gave the Koran to the lawyer with him. We were told he gave to his brothers some messages or some letters. It's a family matter. He even did not ask to talk to his daughters by phone. And he knew he could ask and they would respect that wish. I know that he's very emotional, and he could not deal with talking to them on the phone and hearing them cry for him, so that's why he chose not to speak with them.
Q: Did he not speak to them because he wanted to protect them?
Khalil: I believe he did not want to talk because one time I told him Raghad was a little ill, and I was walking with him through the corridor and when I told him. He got really worried and nervous. I saw his reflection, his emotions. He loves his children so much that it shook him to know this, and he was almost in tears. And he loved her so much and for his own sake he didn't want to talk to her on the phone.
Q: I know you saw the pictures of his execution. As a friend, a lawyer, a legal adviser, what was that like for you?
Khalil: For three days, I did not sleep. I knew it was coming. I saw on Al Jazeera that he might be hanged this morning, and [knew] to be ready to come do an interview. She gave her condolences and announced on Al Jazeera this morning that he's been hanged. Later, when I saw the pictures I saw, that he was strong and he was not afraid, and he believed in his fate he's facing, and he was very solid and very brave in what I saw today. Today, I felt like he was my own father, as God has faith.
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