Italy's foreign minister says he intends to go to Baghdad to try to convince the Iraqis to call off the execution of former foreign minister Tariq Aziz.
In a statement Monday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Franco Frattini had told Iraqi officials he would travel to Iraq to ask them to spare Aziz's life.The statement said the Iraqis reaffirmed that the sentence had been suspended pending appeals and any final decision would take months.
Aziz, the highest ranking Christian in Saddam Hussein's regime, was sentenced Oct. 26 to death by hanging for persecuting members of the Shiite religious parties that now dominate the country.Italy and the Vatican, among others, strongly opposed the sentence.
By The Associated Press
In a statement Monday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Franco Frattini had told Iraqi officials he would travel to Iraq to ask them to spare Aziz's life.The statement said the Iraqis reaffirmed that the sentence had been suspended pending appeals and any final decision would take months.
Aziz, the highest ranking Christian in Saddam Hussein's regime, was sentenced Oct. 26 to death by hanging for persecuting members of the Shiite religious parties that now dominate the country.Italy and the Vatican, among others, strongly opposed the sentence.
By The Associated Press
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