Firdos Square

Al-Firdos Square (Arabic: ساحة الفردوس, romanized: Sāḥat al-Firdaus) is a public open space in central Baghdad, Iraq.

[4] In April 2002, a 12-metre (39 ft) statue, designed by Iraqi sculptor, Khalid Ezzat, was erected in honor of Saddam Hussein's 65th birthday.

[7] The site of statue now houses a green, abstract sculpture intended to symbolize freedom, designed by sculptor Bassem Hamad al-Dawiri[8] and built by a group of artists calling themselves Najin (The Survivors).

[10] On April 9, 2005, the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the square was the center of a large-scale demonstration from tens of thousands of Iraqis protesting the American occupation.

The demonstration was organized by Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shi'a cleric, and supported by Sheikh Abd al-Zahra al-Suwaid, a follower of the Green Party.

You should demand the withdrawal of the occupation forces and press for quicker trials for Saddam Hussein and his aides before an Iraqi court."

The Square during the Kingdom of Iraq in the 1950s
The infamous toppling of Saddam Hussein ’s statue in Firdos Square in Baghdad shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003