Saddam's hanging stirs death penalty controversy

ROME, Dec 30 (Reuters) For anti-death penalty campaigners, Saddam Hussein's execution by masked hangmen showed the cruelty of capital punishment. For others, it was a fitting end for a man who himself never flinched from sending opponents to die.

''Capital punishment is always tragic news, a reason for sadness, even if it deals with a person who was guilty of grave crimes,'' said a spokesman for the Vatican.

US President George W Bush, who as governor of Texas presided over many executions of criminals, called the former president's hanging ''an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy''.

But for Bush's allies in Europe, where the death penalty is outlawed, the execution made for uncomfortable viewing.

''You don't fight barbarism with acts that I deem as barbaric,'' said Louis Michel, a member of the European Commission and, as a former Belgian foreign minister, an outspoken critic of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

''The death penalty is against the values of the European Union ... whatever the crimes committed by Saddam Hussein -- and he committed horrible ones.'' The EU's Justice, Freedom and Security commissioner, Franco Frattini, called Saddam a ''horrible dictator, comparable to Hitler'', but said it was a mistake to make him a martyr and insisted the West had a duty to push for human rights.

''When we are combating fundamentalism and terrorism, when we ask imams to fight those who disrespect life, we Europeans have to show coherence,'' he told Italy's Repubblica newspaper.

While all European Union countries oppose the death penalty, key figures in the region were careful not to appear to be pardoning Saddam or criticising Iraqi and US policy.

INNOCENT VICTIMS Britain, Washington's closest ally in Iraq, said although it opposed capital punishment, it was Iraq's sovereign right to apply the penalty.

France, which opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq, said in a statement, it ''took note'' of the execution but stressed its opposition to the death penalty.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: ''We respect the decision but it is known that the German government is opposed to capital punishment. But on a day like this my thoughts are mostly on the many innocent victims of Saddam Hussein.'' London-based rights group Amnesty International said the execution was wrong in principle and also because Saddam's trial was flawed.

''Not only is the death penalty a violation of the right to life, but this most extreme penalty was imposed after a clearly unfair trial,'' said spokesman James Dyson.

Dyson said only two countries in Europe -- Belarus and Uzbekistan -- still have the death penalty and that it is not allowed by any international tribunals that deal with crimes against humanity or genocide.

''What's happened today with Saddam Hussein is an anachronism,'' he said.

While supporters of Saddam's execution hoped his death would close a painful chapter in Iraq's history, anti-death penalty groups said it could bring more instability and violence.

''The killing of the guilty party is not the way to reconstruct justice and reconcile society,'' said the Vatican's spokesman, Federico Lombardi. ''On the contrary, there is a risk that it will feed a spirit of vendetta and sow new violence.'' REUTERS LL PM2125