VENEZUELA. CHAVEZ OPPOSES DEATH PENALTY IN SADDAM CASE AND OTHERS
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that he opposes the death penalty — whether for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein or anyone else — but added that if any leader should be condemned for genocide, it is US President George W. Bush.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that he opposes the death penalty — whether for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein or anyone else — but added that if any leader should be condemned for genocide, it is US President George W. Bush.
"They're bogged down there in Iraq. Surely enough, they've sentenced ex-President Saddam Hussein to death," Chavez said. "We oppose the death penalty in the first place. It's a matter of principles.
"But if it were a question of a sentence, the first who'd have to be condemned to the greatest sentence established on this planet is the president of the United States ... if it were a question of those who perpetrate genocide."
"They're bogged down there in Iraq. Surely enough, they've sentenced ex-President Saddam Hussein to death," Chavez said. "We oppose the death penalty in the first place. It's a matter of principles.
"But if it were a question of a sentence, the first who'd have to be condemned to the greatest sentence established on this planet is the president of the United States ... if it were a question of those who perpetrate genocide."
— SOURCES
- (Sources: The Associated Press, 07/11/2006)