US, Iraqi Officials Call Saddam Sentence Deserved
Washington
05 November 2006
The White House is praising the Iraqi judicial system for the death sentence verdict handed down to Saddam Hussein. In a politically charged atmosphere just two days before U.S. congressional elections, the administration is denying that it had any influence on the timing of the verdict.
The announcement of a death sentence verdict against Saddam Hussein was announced just two days before elections in the United States that observers expect will result in gains for the opposition Democratic Party. Many experts see the polls as a referendum on the Iraq War.
White House spokesman Tony Snow called Saddam's conviction of crimes against humanity "a good day for the Iraqi people," and he stressed that the Iraqi court decision was reached independently, without U.S. interference. "The idea is preposterous that somehow we've been scheming and plotting with the Iraqis," said Snow. He spoke on CNN's Late Edition.
Saddam's defense lawyers had said the verdict was timed to help President Bush's Republican Party in this week's congressional elections.
Democratic Party leader Howard Dean also praised the verdict, on the ABC television program This Week, but added that he thinks this decision does not make the United States any safer. "Well, I think it is a great verdict. Saddam Hussein is a war criminal, and he is getting what he deserves," he commented. "But I do not think it has any impact on the safety of America."
In a televised speech, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he hopes the verdict will bring happiness to the families of the victims.
In other parts of the world, reactions were mixed.
Key U.S. allies welcomed the widely-expected verdict.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said she is glad Saddam is being held accountable for what she called the appalling atrocities committed by his brutal regime.
"It is right that he is brought to justice before an Iraqi court," said Bechett. "The evidence against him has been heard in full court, it has been tested in full court, and the verdict has been given, in a court of the people, against whom his crimes were committed."
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he is not surprised the court handed down a death sentence for Saddam, a man he referred to as "an evil tyrant."
In the Arab world, some Muslims saw the sentence as divine justice, while others denounced it as a farce. In Asia, news reports quoted a Muslim cleric in Thailand as warning that Saddam's death could, in his words, "turn into hell for the United States."
A Russian lawmaker and a former Turkish diplomat were both quoted as expressing concern that the sentence will deepen sectarian divisions in Iraq.
Despite praise for the verdict, many European nations voiced their opposition to the death penalty. An Italian opposition figure is reportedly calling on the continent to push for Saddam's sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment.
Claudio Cordone, senior director of human rights group Amnesty International, also deplored the death penalty verdict. "Obviously, we are disappointed by the death sentence," noted Cordone. "As you know, Amnesty is always opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. But also there are serious flaws with regard to the trial."
He said his group believes the trial was not fair and that the court was not impartial.
Saddam and his co-defendants have 30 days to file an appeal.
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