Talabani will not sign death penalty sentence against Tarik Aziz
Talabani will not sign death penalty sentence against Tarik Aziz
Iraq's president Jalal Talabani said he won't sign off on a death penalty sentence against Saddam Hussein's closest ally, Tariq Aziz.
The decision to prosecute and execute members of Saddam's regime is a source of controversy in Iraq where many members of the country's Shiite majority, who suffered under the ousted Sunni-dominated regime, want vengeance for past crimes.
In an interview with France 24 TV, President Jalal Talabani cited a number of reasons for refusing to approve the execution.
"I cannot sign an order of this kind because I am a Socialist," Talabani said. "I feel compassion for Tariq Aziz because he is a Christian, an Iraqi Christian."
"In addition, he is an elderly man - aged over 70 - and this is why I will never sign this order," Talabani said in Arabic through a translator. He was speaking in Paris, where he attended a meeting of the Socialist International this week.
Talabani has refused to sign off on death sentences for other former regime members, including former defense minister Sultan Hashim al-Taie, who signed the cease-fire with U.S.-led forces that ended the 1991 Gulf war and remains in U.S. custody.
Justice Ministry spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar told The Associated Press that death penalties can be carried out regardless of the president's refusal to sign an execution order.
"If the president refuses to sign an execution that is not a veto on a verdict," Bayrkdar said.
Aziz, who surrendered to U.S. forces about a month after the war started in March 2003, has already been convicted in two other cases, receiving a combined 22 years in prison. In an interview with The Associated Press this summer, Aziz predicted he would die in prison.
The decision to prosecute and execute members of Saddam's regime is a source of controversy in Iraq where many members of the country's Shiite majority, who suffered under the ousted Sunni-dominated regime, want vengeance for past crimes.
In an interview with France 24 TV, President Jalal Talabani cited a number of reasons for refusing to approve the execution.
"I cannot sign an order of this kind because I am a Socialist," Talabani said. "I feel compassion for Tariq Aziz because he is a Christian, an Iraqi Christian."
"In addition, he is an elderly man - aged over 70 - and this is why I will never sign this order," Talabani said in Arabic through a translator. He was speaking in Paris, where he attended a meeting of the Socialist International this week.
Talabani has refused to sign off on death sentences for other former regime members, including former defense minister Sultan Hashim al-Taie, who signed the cease-fire with U.S.-led forces that ended the 1991 Gulf war and remains in U.S. custody.
Justice Ministry spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar told The Associated Press that death penalties can be carried out regardless of the president's refusal to sign an execution order.
"If the president refuses to sign an execution that is not a veto on a verdict," Bayrkdar said.
Aziz, who surrendered to U.S. forces about a month after the war started in March 2003, has already been convicted in two other cases, receiving a combined 22 years in prison. In an interview with The Associated Press this summer, Aziz predicted he would die in prison.
