Saturday, December 30, 2006

Saddam hanged; Vatican, opposing capital punishment, calls execution "tragic"

Saddam Hussein executed before dawn
Deposed Iraqi dictator is hanged for deaths of 148 Shiites in 1982

NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 2 hours, 12 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein, among the world’s most brutal dictators, struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners. But as his final moments approached, he grew calm. Dressed in a black coat and trousers, he clutched a Quran as he was led to the gallows, and in one final moment of defiance, refused to have a hood pulled over his head.

After a quarter-century of remorseless brutality that killed countless thousands and led Iraq into disastrous wars against the United States and Iran, Saddam was executed before sunrise Saturday.
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CBC News

Vatican denounces Saddam's execution
Last Updated: Saturday, December 30, 2006 9:25 AM ET

A Vatican spokesman on Saturday called Saddam Hussein's execution "tragic" and said it could escalate the fighting in Iraq.

"The killing of the guilty is not the way to reconstruct justice and reconcile society," Rev. Federico Lombardi said in a statement. "There is rather the risk that it might fuel the spirit of vengeance and sow the seeds of new violence."

Lombardi said the Catholic Church has repeatedly and clearly expressed its opposition to capital punishment.

"A capital punishment is always tragic news, a reason for sadness, even if it deals with a person who was guilty of grave crimes," he said.
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The world reponse to Hussein's execution reflects differing views on capital punishment:

Christian Today

World Reacts to Saddam Hussein Execution

Following the news that former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, has been executed, church leaders have joined world leaders in reacting to the landmark news.

by Daniel Blake
Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2006, 14:12 (GMT)

Following the news that former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, has been executed in northern Baghdad today, the world’s leading figures and organisations have reacted in various ways to the news.

UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett

Saddam Hussein has been held to account for some of his crimes against the Iraqi people, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said following the former Iraqi president's execution on Saturday.
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New York Times

European Response Focuses on Death Penalty

By ALAN COWELL
Published: December 30, 2006

LONDON, Dec. 31 — With gradations of unease inspired by the hanging of Saddam Hussein, Western politicians sought a cautious balance today between revulsion at his record, support for his executioners and concern at the use of the death penalty they largely shun in their own countries.

But religious leaders — both Christian and Muslim — used stronger and more critical language in response to the news of Mr. Hussein’s execution, which greeted most Western Europeans on their breakfast time news shows and in some newspaper headlines on New Year’s Eve.

Perhaps the most delicately choreographed response came from Britain, whose prime minister, Tony Blair, took a lead as America’s closest ally in toppling Mr. Hussein while his Labor Party prides itself on opposing the death penalty.
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