Saddam Hussein's Death Sentence In 30 Days

An Iraqi appeals court on Tuesday upheld Saddam Hussein's death sentence for crimes against humanity and said he should hang within 30 days.

Human rights groups condemned his trial as seriously flawed and called on the government not to carry out the sentence, which comes amid raging violence between Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs and majority Shi'ites.

The White House called the court's decision a "milestone" in replacing tyranny with rule of law.

Sunni Arab leaders said the ruling was politically motivated by former enemies of Saddam now in power in the US-backed Shi'ite-led national unity government.

"The appeal court has approved the death sentence. The government has the right to choose the date starting from tomorrow up to 30 days. After 30 days it will be an obligation to implement the sentence," the head of the Iraqi High Tribunal, Aref Abdul-Razzaq al-Shahin said in a news conference.

Saddam, 69, and two others were sentenced to death on November 5 for crimes against humanity over the killings of 148 Shi'ites from the town of Dujail after he escaped assassination in 1982.