Saddam Hussein death sentence ratified

The conviction was pre-ordained and now it has been upheld.

A panel of Iraqi judges has upheld the death sentence passed against Saddam Hussein, in a decision that could see the former dictator hanged within 30 days.

"The appeals court has ratified the sentence of the execution of Saddam," Judge Raed Jouhi told AFP.

Under Iraqi law a death sentence, once confirmed at appeal, should be carried out within a month.

Mr Jouhi would not confirm this would be the case, however, saying that this was a matter for "the executive".

In theory, Iraq's head of state President Jalal Talabani must ratify all capital sentences, but he has previously said he would leave such a job to his vice presidents because of his personal opposition to the death penalty.

Saddam was sentenced to death in November for his role in the execution of 148 Shiites as part of a revenge campaign launched after an assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail in 1982.

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