European Union foreign ministers have urged the interim...

European Union foreign ministers have urged the interim Iraqi government not to reinstate the death penalty, which some Baghdad leaders have said could be brought back into force.
"The European Union reconfirms its opposition to the death penalty in all cases," the ministers of the 25-nation bloc said in the draft of a statement obtained by Reuters on July 12 after they had met Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari.
Senior Iraqi politicians, including President Ghazi al-Yawar, have said they plan to reinstate capital punishment for a limited range of crimes after an amnesty period. The death penalty was suspended during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
If it is reinstated, toppled President Saddam Hussein -- who is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide -- might be executed.
"The message has been very clear ... We have this policy, we will maintain this policy," Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot told a news conference with Zebari. "I hope that we have been able to convince him a little bit as to our convictions."
Zebari told the news conference he himself had campaigned against the death penalty and understood the EU's position.
"On the other hand we are facing a serious security and terrorist challenge to the new order," he said.
"There is a need for the new government to be more decisive and tougher in its actions to bring the security situation under control. We need a deterrence against those elements ... and as an option in order to deter those people from carrying out their evil acts."