The US State Department branded Iraqi President Saddam...

The US State Department branded Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime and the military government in Burma as some of the world's most repressive. The department's annual human rights report said that in Iraq, executions, torture and rape of Saddam's opponents were routine. The list of offences that can carry the death penalty continue to grow in Iraq and include forgery, smuggling cars and joining a certain political party. "There are recurrent reports of the use of the death penalty for such offences as `insulting' the President," the report said.