Italy asks for clemency against Tariq Aziz death sentence

Sun, 05 Dec 2010

Baghdad - Italy asked that Iraq not execute Tariq Aziz, a former top aid to toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi foreign minister said Sunday.

Aziz, a fluent English speaker and once the public face of Saddam's regime, is 74 years old and suffered a stroke in January in a prison in Baghdad. He is believed to be in poor health.

The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who was in Baghdad, issued "a request for a pardoning of Tariq Aziz or a clemency against his death sentence," Iraq Foreign Minister Houshiar Zubeiri told journalists.

"This request has also came from Russia, the Vatican, and Arab states," he said, but added that the "final decision lies with the justice system."

Zubeiri's statements came at a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart, who was completing a Middle East tour.

The Italian government and the European Union have condemned Aziz's death sentence, handed down in October by an Iraqi court, as politically motivated.

Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani, who opposes the death penalty, said last month that he would not sign Aziz's execution order. While Talabani has in the past refused to sign-off executions, vice presidents have approved some in his place.

Aziz, a Christian, served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister under Saddam and was the most prominent member of any minority sect in the previous regime.

The Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal in Baghdad found Aziz guilty of persecution and efforts to "liquidate" Iraqi religious parties, particularly those of Shiite Muslims.

Rights groups have accused the court of having suffered from "political interference" during Aziz's trial.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356688,tariq-aziz-death-sentence.html.