BAGHDAD, November
8 ,-- Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said
he expects toppled leader Saddam Hussein to be
executed before the end of the year.
Saddam was sentenced on Sunday by a U.S.-backed
Iraqi court to hang for crimes against humanity.
"We are waiting for the decision of the appeals
court," Maliki told the BBC in an interview posted
on its Web site.
"If it confirms the sentence it will be the
government's responsibility to carry it out. We
would like the whole world to respect Iraq's
judicial will.
I expect the execution to happen before the end of
this year," Maliki said.
An appeal court has the power to overturn the
verdict or change the sentence, such as commuting it
to life imprisonment. Legal experts and officials
have said it could be months before appeals are
exhausted.
Maliki, a member of the majority Muslim Shi'ite
community persecuted under Saddam's Sunni-dominated
rule, said after the verdict was announced that the
fallen strongman had got "what he deserved".
His comments in the past that Saddam's execution
could not come soon enough provoked criticism from
international legal rights groups over government
pressure on the legal process. |
Iraqi Prime minister Jawad al-Maliki
Photo:AP
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP |
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