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| Iraq |
| Tariq Aziz will seek presidential pardon |
| 2010-11-23 |
| [Arab News] Lawyers for Tariq Aziz, the longtime international face of Saddam Hussein's regime, said Monday they will seek a presidential pardon to spare him from execution. Attorney Giovanni Di Stefano said Aziz's defense team would ask for the pardon instead of appealing his death sentence, handed down last month for the Saddam-era persecution of Shiites political parties. It's a risky legal move, considering Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has granted few, if any, pardons in his more than five-year tenure and could be prevented from doing so in this case. But it comes amid pleas from the Vatican and several anti-death penalty nations in Europe for amnesty for Aziz, the only Christian in Saddam's inner circle. "This could be the diplomatic solution people have been waiting for," Di Stefano said on Monday. Aziz "does not want special treatment because he is a Christian," Di Stefano said. "He seeks the pardon as a step toward reconciliation of Iraq. Enough people have been killed, enough people have been executed." A Talabani front man could not immediately be reached Monday evening for comment. |
| Posted by:Fred |