Mufti Mukarram, Panthers party condemn death sentence to Saddam

New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) The Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid Mufti Mukarram and Chairman National Panthers Party Bhim Singh have condemned the death sentence awarded to deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

Amid reports of sectarian violence on the streets of Baghdad, the Mufti has called for the United Nations to intervene and get the case transferred to International Court of Justice for an appeal.

Terming the trial ''a horrible drama'', the Imam of the historic mosque said, ''The Muslims of India are of the view that it is revenge and not justice.'' Mufti Mukarram also warned of a ''reaction'' and said the verdict would further add fuel to insurgency in the violence-torn country, if the UN failed to intervene. ''The cause of justice will be seriously damaged,'' he said, appealing to the UN to save the situation.

In a separate statement, Mr Bhim Singh attributed the verdict to the ''whims of US president George Bush''.

''The sentence was announced just a day ahead of the US Congressional elections, lending credence to the allegations that the whole show was meant to manipulate the sagging support for Bush to recover,'' he said.

Three lawyers assisting Saddam in the trial were gunned down.

Besides, two heads of the tribunal were sacked and removed, who didn't toe the line of ''US masters''. ''This is the rarest of rare case where a killer and prosecutor was acting as a judge,'' the statement added.

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