Saddam verdict welcomed

12 April 2012

British politicians welcomed the conviction of Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said the former Iraqi leader had been "held to account".

She said in a statement: "I welcome that Saddam Hussein and the other defendants have faced justice and have been held to account for their crimes.

"Appalling crimes were committed by Saddam Hussein's regime, it's right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice."

Mrs Beckett, currently on a visit to India, added: "Today's verdict and sentences by the Iraqi Higher Tribunal come at the end of a trial during which evidence has been offered and challenged in the full glare of media scrutiny."

Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague said in a statment: "We congratulate the Iraqi courts on reaching a verdict in such difficult circumstances, and the bravery shown by judges and witnesses in the face of severe violence and intimidation. It is important that Saddam Hussein faces justice for his crimes, for the sake of both his many victims and of the future of Iraq and it's people.

"The verdict and sentencing of Saddam are a matter for Iraqi law and the Iraqi people, but they deserve the support of the international community in ensuring that the decisions reached by the court are respected."

Home Secretary John Reid said the verdict was "a sovereign decision by a sovereign nation".

"It is in a sense the ultimate expression of the sovereignty of Iraq. They are masters of their own destiny and they have taken a decision today as controllers of that destiny which I think all of us ought to respect."

Asked BBC1's Sunday AM programme over whether he approved of the death sentence having been passed, Mr Reid said: "I think we can have our views on this but I'm not sure that we have a role in this."

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