Updated at: 0200 PST, Wednesday, October 27, 2010
 BAGHDAD: Iraq's supreme criminal court found Iraq's former deputy premier Tareq Aziz guilty of "deliberate murder and crimes against humanity" on Tuesday, sentencing to death the long-time international face of the Saddam Hussein regime.
"After sufficient evidence against Tareq Aziz that he committed and participated in deliberate murder and crimes against humanity the court decided to issue the death sentence," Hasan said.
The verdict evoked quick reaction from the European Union and rights group Amnesty International, while the Vatican urged clemency for Aziz.
"Our position on the death penalty is well known, so I have nothing to add," Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said when asked about the sentence.
Ashton will remind Iraqi authorities of the EU position on the death penalty, said a diplomat who requested anonymity.
Amnesty's Malcolm Smart said "Saddam Hussein's rule was synonymous with executions, torture and other gross human rights violations, and it is right that those who committed crimes are brought to justice.
"However, it is vital that the death penalty, which is the ultimate denial of human rights, should never be used, whatever the gravity of the crime," he added in a statement. |
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