P-45 Iraqi tribunal sentences Saddam to hang.. Just before US elections

Iraqi tribunal sentences Saddam to hang BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced Sunday to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted "God is great!"..... As he, his half brother and another senior official in his regime were convicted and sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal, Saddam yelled out, "Long live the people and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!"

Saddam's chief lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi condemned the trial as a "farce," claiming the verdict was planned. He said defense attorneys would appeal within 30 days..... The death sentences automatically go to a nine-judge appeals panel, which has unlimited time to review the case. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days.

UPDATES:
Saddam verdict unleashes violence fears In a world sharply divided on
Iraq since the U.S.-led war began in 2003, Saddam Hussein's death sentence unleashed fears of fresh violence, European condemnation of capital punishment and new questions about the fairness of the tribunal that ordered him to hang.

Underscoring the fault lines that split the international community and widened the divide between Muslims and Christians, Islamic leaders warned that Sunday's verdict could inflame those who revile the United States — undermining U.S. policy in the volatile Middle East and inspiring terrorists.

Shiites praise, Sunnis protest verdict

Snow denies Saddam trial 'scheming' WASHINGTON - The White House on Sunday praised the Iraqi judicial system for its independence and denied the Bush administration had been "scheming" to arrange a verdict in Saddam Hussein's trial days before crucial U.S. elections..... "The judiciary is operating independently and we need to give them credit for doing their job and doing it in the way they saw fit and proper," presidential spokesman Tony Snow said.

Iraqis, he said, "are the ones who conducted the trial. The Iraqi judges are the ones who spent all the time pouring over the evidence. ... It's important to give them credit for running their own government."

UPDATES:
Bush hails verdict as milestone for Iraq GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -
President Bush celebrated Saddam Hussein's death sentence as a victory for "
Iraq's young democracy" and U.S. security, highlighting Sunday's verdict in the last hours of an election campaign in which Republicans are suffering from public discontent with the Iraq war.... "My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision and the world is better off for it," he said to raucous applause......

Bush painted Saddam's conviction and sentence as vindication of the sacrifices made by American soldiers in Iraq. More than 2,800 members of the U.S. military have died since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

UPDATES:
US distances itself from controversial death sentence for Saddam WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States insisted it played no role in an Iraqi court's decision to sentence former dictator Saddam Hussein to death, a judgement assailed by allied governments around the world..... The Iraqi High Tribunal, funded and advised by the US government, found Saddam guilty of crimes against humanity in the case of 148 Shiite civilians who were killed in revenge for an 1982 attempt on the then-Iraqi leader's life.

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In the last two updates posted here you can see the denials, lies and contradictions of the USA government.... "President Bush celebrated Saddam Hussein's death sentence as a victory for Iraq's young democracy".... Opps I almost forgot.. this is the US government correcting wrong or inaccurate media

Saysame JR
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Iraq plans to reinstate ex-Baathist officials