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ANFAL DEATH SENTENCES DO NOT REQUIRE PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL: IRAQI JUDGE
September 10, 2007: An Iraqi judge and spokesman for the Iraqi High Tribunal said at a Baghdad news conference that the execution of three former Saddam-era Iraqi officials sentenced to death for their role in the 1988 Anfal Campaign can proceed without the approval of the Iraqi president because of the scope of their crimes.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani announced that he objected to the planned execution of one of the condemned officials, former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, and that he would not approve al-Tai's death sentence.
The Iraqi constitution holds that executions must first be approved by the government and the president's office, but legal experts disagree over whether that rule applies to the special court that tried the former officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity. A lawyer for the three condemned officials, also including Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti and Ali Hassan al-Majid, filed a petition for commutation of the sentences Sunday, insisting that they could not be carried legally out without the personal approval of the Iraqi president.
The judge's announcement, although not an official ruling, suggests that the petition is likely to be denied. (Sources: AllAfrica.com, 10/09/2007)
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