BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi High Tribunal on Sunday sentenced a combative Saddam Hussein and two other defendants to death by hanging for a brutal crackdown in 1982 in the Shiite town of Dujail.
Despite a curfew, Iraqis in Baghdad spilled out into the streets to celebrate the verdict. But protests were held in Saddam Hussein's hometown.
"The Saddam Hussein era is in the past now, as was the era of Hitler and Mussolini," said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, calling Hussein the worst ruler ever in Iraq.
"We want an Iraq where all Iraqis are equal before the law," he said. "The policy of discrimination and persecution is over."
The case will be automatically appealed to the Appellate Chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal. The defense has 30 days to file any motions.
There is no limit to how long the appeals process can take.
The appeals process was likely to take three to four weeks once the formal paperwork was submitted, a court official told The Associated Press that
If the Appellate Chamber upholds the conviction and sentence, Hussein must be executed within 30 days.
Despite a curfew, Iraqis in Baghdad spilled out into the streets to celebrate the verdict. But protests were held in Saddam Hussein's hometown.
"The Saddam Hussein era is in the past now, as was the era of Hitler and Mussolini," said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, calling Hussein the worst ruler ever in Iraq.
"We want an Iraq where all Iraqis are equal before the law," he said. "The policy of discrimination and persecution is over."
The case will be automatically appealed to the Appellate Chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal. The defense has 30 days to file any motions.
There is no limit to how long the appeals process can take.
The appeals process was likely to take three to four weeks once the formal paperwork was submitted, a court official told The Associated Press that
If the Appellate Chamber upholds the conviction and sentence, Hussein must be executed within 30 days.
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