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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Saddam verdict timing 'suspect' | Saddam verdict timing 'suspect' |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Former Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has accused the US of delaying the verdict in Saddam Hussein's trial to coincide with the mid-term polls. | Former Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has accused the US of delaying the verdict in Saddam Hussein's trial to coincide with the mid-term polls. |
| He told BBC One's Question Time he had no evidence but the timing of the verdict was "deeply suspect". | He told BBC One's Question Time he had no evidence but the timing of the verdict was "deeply suspect". |
| The former president of Iraq was this week sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity. | |
| The White House has dismissed similar accusations as "preposterous" and said the Iraqi judges determined the timing. | The White House has dismissed similar accusations as "preposterous" and said the Iraqi judges determined the timing. |
| Bloodshed warning | Bloodshed warning |
| It comes as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that hanging the former dictator could lead to further bloodshed in Iraq. | It comes as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that hanging the former dictator could lead to further bloodshed in Iraq. |
| The Iraqi judicial system is a matter for the Iraqis Downing Street spokesman Mubarak's Saddam warning | The Iraqi judicial system is a matter for the Iraqis Downing Street spokesman Mubarak's Saddam warning |
| Making the first public comments by an Arab leader on the sentence, Mr Mubarak said such a move would only enhance the country's sectarian and ethnic divisions. | Making the first public comments by an Arab leader on the sentence, Mr Mubarak said such a move would only enhance the country's sectarian and ethnic divisions. |
| Tory MP Sir Malcolm said he believed the US told the Iraqi court to hold off until just before the US elections. | Tory MP Sir Malcolm said he believed the US told the Iraqi court to hold off until just before the US elections. |
| Saddam Hussein was sentenced on Sunday but despite that President Bush's Republican party lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday's mid-terms. | Saddam Hussein was sentenced on Sunday but despite that President Bush's Republican party lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday's mid-terms. |
| Many of the losses were put down to anger over the Iraq war. One of its key architects, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, has since stood down. | Many of the losses were put down to anger over the Iraq war. One of its key architects, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, has since stood down. |
| Saddam Hussein's death penalty has been condemned by human rights groups and the European Union has urged Iraq not to carry out the sentence. | Saddam Hussein's death penalty has been condemned by human rights groups and the European Union has urged Iraq not to carry out the sentence. |
| But President Bush welcomed the verdict as a "milestone" in the efforts of the Iraqi people "to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law". | But President Bush welcomed the verdict as a "milestone" in the efforts of the Iraqi people "to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law". |
| A Downing Street spokeswoman said on Thursday the "Iraqi judicial system is a matter for the Iraqis" and refused to comment on Sir Malcolm's "suspicions". | A Downing Street spokeswoman said on Thursday the "Iraqi judicial system is a matter for the Iraqis" and refused to comment on Sir Malcolm's "suspicions". |