HELSINKI - The Finnish presidency of the European Union on Sunday called for Iraq not to use the death penalty against former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, a statement said.
"The EU opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances and it should not be carried out in this case either," the statement said.
"Over the years, the European Union repeatedly condemned the systematic, widespread and extremely grave violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law committed by the regime of Saddam Hussein," it added.
"Establishing the truth and ensuring accountability for the crimes committed during the past regime will assist in furthering national reconciliation and dialogue in Iraq in the future.
"The nature of the crimes as well as the necessity of national reconciliation mean that all the trials have to be conducted respecting all the requirements for a fair process."
Many European countries earlier Sunday expressed their opposition to the death penalty while welcoming the end of the trial.
Saddam, 69, was on Sunday sentenced to death for "willful killing", part of his indictment for crimes against humanity in his role in ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite villagers in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad in 1982.
Saddam`s half-brother and intelligence chief Barzan al-Tikriti was also sentenced to death, as was Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, who was chairman of the so-called Revolutionary Court that ordered the Shiites executed.
The former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan received a life sentence.
11/05/2006 16:07 GMT