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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 19, 2003

Italy opposes death penalty for Saddam: Defense Minister

Both the Italian government and most Italian people are opposed to sentencing former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to death, Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino has said.


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Both the Italian government and most Italian people are opposed to sentencing former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to death, Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino has said.

Martino said the most important thing is to give Saddam a fair trial, Italian media reported Thursday.

The trial must not be a "revenge," the minister said.

Saddam should be tried in an Iraqi court and the trial should be chaired by judges of the International Court of Justice and open to the Iraqi people and other Arab countries to ensure its "fairness," Martino said.

The governments of Kuwait and Iran should act as plaintiffs in Saddam's trial, the minister said, adding that the Italian government would also be a plaintiff if there is concrete evidencethat Saddam was involved in a November blast that killed 19 Italians in the southern Iraqi town of Nasiriyah.

Kuwait, a small Gulf emirate, was invaded by Iraq, under Saddam's rule, in 1991. A few months later, Iraqi occupiers were driven out by US-led coalition forces.

Iran fought an eight-year war with Iraq between 1980 and 1988. Hundred of thousands of Iranians died during the war. .


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