An Iraqi appeals panel has confirmed the death sentence on Taha Yassin Ramadan, who served as vice president to executed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, officials said on Thursday.
According to AFP, Ramadan was sentenced to death on February 12 for crimes against humanity by the Iraqi High Tribunal. His sentence was automatically reviewed by the appeals panel which on Thursday confirmed the execution by hanging.
"Yesterday, all the members of the appeals court ratified the death sentence on Taha Yassin Ramadan," Judge Munir Haddad of the appeals panel told a press conference.
"He can be hanged at any moment but the official period is that the sentence be carried out within 30 days of it being confirmed by the appeals court." The appeals court decision was relayed to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which will set the date for the execution. A senior Iraqi official told AFP that Ramadan is likely to be hanged by the end of this month.
