Iraqi president opposes Aziz death sentence
Iraq’s president has declared that he will not sign off on the hanging of Tariq Aziz, joining the Vatican and others in objecting to the death sentence for the man who for years was the international face of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
President Jalal Talabani’s statement sets up a showdown between those seeking maximum punishment for key figures of the ousted regime and groups calling for reconciliation after years of fierce sectarian conflict unleashed by the 2003 US-led invasion.
