of the Italian government - as well as mine - to a death sentence. As I reiterated again today (27 December 2006) at the cabinet meeting, Italy is opposed to capital punishment, always and in all cases. It is a general principle that I reiterated firmly also at the United Nations." : Foreign affairs committee member Konstantin Kosachev made a cautious statement, saying he doubted the death penalty would be carried out. He said, "this is more of a moral ruling, revenge that modern Iraq is taking on the Saddam Hussein regime." : Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said "it is right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice." Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that he is "against the death penalty, whether it is Saddam Hussein or anybody else." : The head of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, opposed the death sentence for Saddam Hussein, saying, "For me, punishing a crime with another crime – which is what killing for vindication is – would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." : Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said "my understanding is there is an appeal process to follow, so given that fact, I think it would be pre-emptive to be passing any judgments or making any firm public declarations until all of those avenues have been exhausted." : The White House spokesman Tony Snow said the trial showed "absolute proof" that the judiciary in Iraq are independent. President George W. Bush in a statement said, "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law", and "today, the victims of this regime have received a measure of the justice which many thought would never come." : Zimbabwe Exiles Forum in South Africa welcomed Saddam's death sentence, and hoped it sent a message to Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe, as well as deposed dictators Augusto Pinochet of Chile and former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, saying: "[We] believe that together with the Pinochet, Taylor, and other recent cases, this case sends an unequivocally clear and resounding message to dictators and perpetrators of serious crimes under international and national laws. [We] hope that this loud message will not escape the ears of tyrants like President Robert