Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today condemned the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's former vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan.
Lavrov said Ramadan's death by hanging at dawn today "adds nothing positive" to current attempts to stabilize the country. He said Iraqis should be seeking understanding and national reconciliation without making "gestures that look like score settling."
The Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights body, has also condemned the execution. Secretary-General Terry Davis called it a "state-orchestrated killing," and said it undermines "the prospects for a peaceful and just future for the Iraqi people."
Davis called on Iraqi leaders to focus on arresting criminals who are still at large, rather than executing those already in prison.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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