Saddam Hussein suddenly became the most concerned person in the world. 165438+1the hanging on October 5th caused an unprecedented debate around the world about the death penalty, the Iraq war and "Saddam Hussein is a bad guy, but whether he should be put to death". US President Bush took the lead in cheering for the hanging, calling it "a milestone in the history of Iraq"; Japan followed the example of the United States, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on the 6th that "Iraq under the rule of law got a fair trial". But the voice of doubt is equally loud. They come from the media and international organizations, among which opponents in Europe dare to say the most. Surprisingly, British Prime Minister Tony Blair also said on the 6th that Britain opposed the death penalty, including the death sentence for Saddam Hussein. The French newspaper le figaro directly criticized the United States for "launching military aggression against Iraq on the wrong premise". Today's verdict makes people feel that the Bush administration is trying to legalize this war, which is really a shame. " On the 6th, The New York Times, the mainstream American media, also commented, calling for a moratorium on Saddam's execution. It seems that whether Saddam will eventually go to the gallows will be the most attractive suspense for some time to come.

The verdict against Saddam split the world media. AFP and Associated Press both published similar articles, but it was obviously not just the media that was split. The opposition from Europe on the 6th was far beyond the expectation of the Iraqi government and Americans.

Finland, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, issued a statement on the 6th, calling on the Iraqi government not to execute Saddam Hussein. The statement said: "The EU opposes the death penalty under any circumstances, and today is no exception." This statement almost set the tone for the attitude of the whole of Europe. Italian media quoted Prime Minister Prodi as saying: "Although Saddam's crimes shocked us greatly, our tradition and ethics believe that the death penalty is not an appropriate sentence." Italy, because it is closest to the Vatican, has always been a country where traditional European morality and religious concepts are popular. In addition, the governments of Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Ireland also expressed the same view. The Holy See pointed out that Saddam Hussein's death sentence shows that the turbulent Iraq is still full of revenge mentality of "a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye".

Konstantin, chairman of the International Relations Committee of the Russian State Duma, said in an interview that the execution of the death penalty at this stage is not good for the United States or the Iraqi government. He said that "it is not yet time for a fair evaluation of Saddam Hussein's rule" and predicted that "Saddam Hussein will receive some form of Amnesty".

Analysts believe that European countries oppose the death penalty for two reasons. First, they are against the death penalty. Since July 1 2003, the EU has abolished the death penalty. In recent years, the EU has also been promoting the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. Therefore, western media analysis shows that Europe opposes the death penalty, not trying Saddam Hussein. Once Saddam Hussein is executed, Europe will object, but it may only protest moderately. Second, Europe is uneasy that the execution of Saddam Hussein may cause more chaos. As early as 2004, the European Union expressed its opposition to the death penalty under any circumstances to the new Iraqi government, and pointed out that the execution of Saddam Hussein would only lead to repeated violence.

Compared with Europe and America, Arab political circles are quite indifferent to this matter. Apart from the Iraqi government and the ultra-anti-American Palestinian Hamas government, other Arab countries have made almost no official comments so far. Some media commented that "witnessing the collapse of neighboring countries' regimes, leaders were sentenced to hang, making Arab governments silent."

In addition, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Abel also called for a moratorium on the execution of the death penalty, stressing that "the defendant's right to appeal must be fully respected".