"The South African government joins the international...

"The South African government joins the international community in expressing its rejection of calls for the execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in line with dictates of our own constitution," a South African foreign ministry statement said. "Such calls will only serve to pre-empt the outcome of any trial that will be instituted," said the communique, signed by foreign office spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa. Earlier, the minister in the presidency, Essop Pahad, was quoted by state radio SABC as saying: "You know in South Africa we are opposed to the death penalty. Every person is innocent until proven guilty and so there should not be a presumption of guilt." US President George W Bush had called for "the ultimate penalty" for Saddam, saying Iraq's former leader was a "disgusting tyrant who deserves justice, the ultimate justice".