The Iraqi prime minister has hailed the sentencing of Saddam Hussein to death by hanging for crimes against humanity as “a verdict on a whole dark era”.

Nouri Maliki said he was a criminal who deserved the punishment he was given.

The former Iraqi leader was convicted over the killing of 148 people in the mainly Shia town of Dujail following an assassination attempt on him in 1982.

US President George W Bush said the verdict was a “milestone” for Iraq but the EU urged it not to execute him.

Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants will be given the right to appeal, but that is expected to take only a few weeks and to end in failure for the defendants.

In Iraq celebrations broke out among Shia Muslims, but Sunni areas saw protests and some clashes.

Almost three years since his capture, soaring sectarian violence has brought Iraq to the brink of civil war – and correspondents say few Iraqis think the trial verdict will ease the conflict.

THE VERDICTS

• Saddam Hussein, former Iraqi president: found guilty and sentenced to death
• Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam Hussein’s half-brother: found guilty and sentenced to death
• Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Chief Judge of Revolutionary Court: found guilty and sentenced to death
• Taha Yassin Ramadan, former Iraqi vice-president: found guilty and sentenced to life in jail
• Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid, Senior Baath official: found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail
• Abdullah Rawed Mizher, Senior Baath official: found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail
• Ali Daeem Ali, Senior Baath official: found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in jail
• Mohammed Azawi Ali, Baath official: acquitted

Via: BBC News