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MORATORIUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY ALSO FOR TAREQ AZIZ
Since Sunday 6 July 2008, Marco Pannella - Member of the European Parliament and President of the Nonviolent Radical Party - has been on a hunger strike to halt the anticipated death sentence and immediate execution of former Iraqi Minister Tareq Aziz, number two in Saddam Hussein's decades-long regime.
After the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Resolution on the "Moratorium on the use of the death penalty" on 18 December 2007, hundreds of parliamentarians representing a broad political spectrum, Nobel laureates and other outstanding personalities worldwide have joined in support of the nonviolent action and adhered to the Appeal for a "Moratorium on the death penalty also for Tareq Aziz".
APPEAL A bogus trial is currently underway in Iraq, which most probably will result in a death sentence for Tareq Aziz, number two in Saddam Hussein's decades-long criminal regime.
In his trial, Tareq Aziz, a Chaldean Christian, has been denied due legal process. He was left without a defence council after his Iraqi lawyer fled the country fearing assassination - as happened to Saddam Hussein's lawyer - and was denied the legal assistance offered by foreign lawyers.
Following the extraordinary nonviolent initiative of parliamentarians,institutional actors and the wider public which resulted in the adoption of the "Universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty" on 18 December
2007, we, the undersigned, demand consistency with this historic achievement and call for a: "Moratorium on the death penalty also for Tareq Aziz".
This appeal is not “merely” a humanitarian plea, but aims at a specific, concrete and targeted political objective: the defence of the rule of law and of the truth, the defence of legality and justice in Iraq. Halting the
upcoming death sentence and execution of Tareq Aziz, which - we reiterate - risk occurring without there having been a fair trial, would mark a clear departure from the methods and practices of Saddam's era and would ensure truth and justice for all victims of his regime, and not only for victims of the crimes for which Aziz is being tried.
JOIN THE APPEAL:
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