Tuomioja on Saddam hanging: EU opposes death penalty

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Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja said on Saturday evening that the European Union is opposed to the death penalty in all cases - including that of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who was executed by hanging on Saturday.
      "The European Union has always and consistently been against the use of capital punishment, also in this case", Tuomioja commented to the Finnish News Agency (STT).
      "There are certainly no doubts about the fact that Saddam Hussein was guilty of serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity, but that does not as such justify the acceptance of capital punishment", he added.
     
Saddam's execution has also been condemned by human rights organisations. Frank Johansson, chairman of the Finnish section of Amnesty International, says that he finds it perhaps most regrettable that a second trial in which Saddam faced charges, and all future trials, will now not be held, and that victims of human rights violations will not find that they have received justice.
      Johansson noted that Amnesty opposes the death penalty in all situations, and added that there were also shortcomings in Saddam's trial, which made the implementation of Saddam's death sentence all the more regrettable.
      "The only sensible reason for the death penalty is revenge, and we do not want the system of justice to be based on revenge", Johansson said. "The death penalty does not reduce violent crime - it only brutalises society", he added.
      There have also been concerns that the abrupt execution of the former Iraqi dictator, whilst preventing the possibility of insurgents using demands for his release in hostage-taking, will also prevent the full truth of what happened under his regime from ever coming to light. Some Western countries may be relieved that Saddam's own personal recollections of past incidents - and the origin of materials used in some of the mass killings - will now not be heard in open court.


Links:
  Saddam Hussein (Wikipedia)

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