India's Reaction On Saddam's Death Verdict

While the world has been expecting it since past few months, has reportedly reacted cautiously to the death penalty given to disgraced Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and sought to focus on the legal procedure behind the verdict, officials said Monday.

"Such life and death decisions require credible, due process of law, which does not appear to be victors' justice and is acceptable to the people of as well as the international community," a statement issued by Foreign Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

The statement, posted on the foreign ministry's website, said that had always "stood for a peaceful resolution to the problems in and hoped the verdict would "not add to the sufferings of left-wing parties, key partners of the Congress party-led ruling alliance criticized the judgement and said the Indian government should intervene to get the sentence "rescinded."

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) described the verdict as "totally rigged after a farcical trial." The All-India Forward Bloc said the verdict revealed the "nasty face of American imperialism." Hussein was convicted on Sunday and sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of Shi'ites in the Iraqi town of Dujail. India has been close to the Hussein regime till it was ousted from power by the US in 2003.