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Revision as of 04:49, 1 June 2017 by 83.254.65.67 (talk) (dwddwddsddwdwdww)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)partners have made it clear in the past to Iraqi authorities that we are opposed to courts applying the death sentence."
Italy: Prime Minister Romano Prodi said "While not wishing to play down the crimes... I cannot but express the firm opposition of the Italian government - as well as mine - to a death sentence. As I reiterated again today (27 December 2006) at the cabinet meeting, Italy is opposed to capital punishment, always and in all cases. It is a general principle that I reiterated firmly also at the United Nations."
Russia: Foreign affairs committee member Konstantin Kosachev made a cautious statement, saying he doubted the death penalty would be carried out. He said, "this is more of a moral ruling, revenge that modern Iraq is taking on the Saddam Hussein regime."
UK: Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said "it is right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice." Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that he is "against the death penalty, whether it is Saddam Hussein or anybody else."
Vatican City: The head of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace and Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, opposed the death sentence for Saddam Hussein, saying, "For me, punishing a crime with another crime — which is what killing for vindication is — would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Canada: Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said "my understanding is there is an appeal process to follow, so given that fact, I think it would be pre-emptive to be passing any judgments or making any firm public declarations until all of those avenues have been exhausted."
US: The White House spokesman Tony Snow said the trial showed "absolute proof" that the judiciary in Iraq are independent. President George W. Bush in a statement said, "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law", and "today, the victims of this regime have received a measure of the justice which many thought would never come."
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Exiles Forum in South Africa welcomed Saddam's death sentence, and hoped it sent a message to Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe, as well as deposed dictators Augusto Pinochet of Chile and former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, saying:
- " believe that together with the Pinochet, Taylor, and other recent cases, this case sends an unequivocally clear and resounding message to dictators and perpetrators of serious crimes under international and national laws. hope that this loud message will not escape the ears of tyrants like President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and all those who serve under him in the commission of torture and other crimes against humanity."
Australia: Prime Minister John Howard said, "They could've easily allowed him to be arbitrarily executed as has happened in so many other countries, yet no, he could've been shot ... or something like that, but no, they were determined to have a transparent trial; they were determined to demonstrate to the world that there was a new Iraq." Mr Howard said he was opposed to the death penalty, but could not govern what another country did. Howard stated that the death penalty is not the issue of significance. "The real issue is that he was tried in an open, transparent fashion and one of the great marks of democratic society is due process and the rule of law and this mass murderer was given due process."
New Zealand: Prime Minister Helen Clark stated that the guilty verdict was appropriate but that she has "a long-standing objection to the death penalty and that will always be a concern to me." She declined to make a comment on whether the trial was fair, saying it was hard to determine from so far away.
Criticism
Critics, including Saddam's legal counsel Khalil al-Dulaimi, alleged that American officials had a heavy influence on the court. In a statement, Khalil said, "this court is a creature of the US military occupation, and the Iraqi court is just a tool and rubber stamp of the invaders."
Khalil al-Dulaimi and various international commentators alleged that the date on which the verdict was read live to the world, 5 November 2006, was deliberately selected by the Bush Administration in order to influence the US midterm elections which occurred two days later. This has been called a November Surprise. The verdict was expected to be on 16 October 2006, but was postponed to consider recalling some of the witnesses. Even as the verdict was released verbally on 5 November, the written, final verdict was not released until days later.
The Washington Post reported that "Americans have drafted most of the statutes under which Hussein and his associates are being tried". It also reported that "A US official in Baghdad confirmed last weekend that only the United States and Britain had contributed experts to advise the court on how to prosecute governments for war crimes and other such matters".
The human rights organization Amnesty International criticized the death sentence and said the trial was "deeply flawed and unfair." The process was marred by "serious flaws that call into question the capacity of the tribunal," Malcolm Stuart, director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa program, said. "In particular, political interference undermined the independence and impartiality of the court." The specific concerns raised by Amnesty International included the status of the trial as a "Special Trial" (unconstitutional according to the Iraqi Constitution), political interference in trial proceedings by the removal of a judge mid-trial, exclusion of members of the defense team at points in the trial, assassination of multiple members of the defence team, and the closure of the trial before the defence team had completed presenting its legal case.
In the opening statement of the Jury of Conscience of the World Tribunal on Iraq, keynote speaker Arundhati Roy retorted, "Saddam Hussein is being tried as a war criminal even as we speak. But what about those who helped to install him in power, who armed him, who supported him—and who are now setting up a tribunal to try him and absolve themselves completely?"
See also
References
- Cite error: The named reference
BBC_Reaction_in_quoteswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - BBC (27 December 2006). "In quotes: Reaction to Saddam sentence".
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|publishe=ignored (help) - Russia warns Saddam hanging would divide Iraq at Daily News & Analysis
- "Government hails Saddam verdict". BBC News. 5 November 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- Reuters. "Britain welcomes Saddam death verdict" 5 November 2006.
- BBC News (6 November 2006). "PM 'opposes' Saddam death penalty". Retrieved 6 November 2006.
- Reuters. "Vatican, Catholic officials say 'don't hang Saddam'" 5 November 2006.
- Canadian Press (5 November 2006). "Tories' MacKay circumspect on Saddam verdict".
- Agence France-Presse (6 November 2006). "Verdict shows Iraq progress, says US". News Limited.
- George W. Bush (5 November 2006). "President's Statement on the Saddam Hussein Verdict". Office of the Press Secretary.
- "ZEF's Statement". www.zimbabwejournalists.com. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
- The Age (6 November 2006). "Saddam trial 'heroic', says Howard". Melbourne.
- NZPA (6 November 2006). "Clark backs Saddam verdict but opposes death penalty". New Zealand Herald.
- Defining Justice: Victors' Justice - PBS Frontline World
- ^ "Saddam verdict date 'rigged' for Bush". The New Zealand Herald. Reuters. 5 November 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- Bazzi, Mohamad (3 November 2006). "Saddam verdict to come Sunday".
- Qassim Abdul-Zahra (3 October 2006). "Verdict in Saddam Case to Be Delayed". Associated Press.
- Julia Preston (6 November 2006). "Hussein Trial Was Flawed but Reasonably Fair, and Verdict was Justified, Legal Experts Say". New York Times.
- Ellen Knickmeyer (25 January 2006). "Hussein Trial Halts Again, Setting Off Wave of Criticism". Washington Post.
- Amnesty International (5 November 2006). "Iraq: Amnesty International deplores death sentences in Saddam Hussein trial".
- ''The Most Cowardly War in History'' | BaltimoreChronicle.com
External links
- Saddam's last hours
- Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) homepage
- Grotian Moment: The Saddam Hussein Trial Blog
- Bombings kill over 60 people,mostly Shiites, 3 American soldiers, revenge for Saddam's death, 30 December 2006
- Shiite professor dies in Iraq, Diya al-Meqoter, one of many
- Daoud al-Qaissi, Saddam's singer executed
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