An Iraqi court has sentenced Saddam Hussein to death by hanging for committing crimes against humanity. The decision was announced on Sunday, just two days before the U.S. mid-term elections. As chief judge Raouf Abdul Rahman announced the ruling, the former Iraqi president cut him off and declared “Long live Iraq.”

• Raouf Abdul Rahman: “The court has decided to sentence Saddam Hussein al-Majid to be hanged until he is dead for crimes against humanity.”

• Saddam Hussein: “Long live the people. Long live the nation. Down with the agents”

Two other senior aides, including Saddam Hussein’s half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti were also sentenced to death. His former vice-president was sentenced to life and three minor Baath party officials received long prison sentences. The five-judge court found Saddam Hussein guilty of executing 148 Shiite men and boys from the town of Dujail in 1982. The killings occurred a year before Donald Rumsfeld shook hands with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. To prevent an outbreak of violence, Baghdad and four provinces have been under a curfew for the past two days. Amnesty International criticized the court proceedings saying it failed to meet the standards of a fair trial. One of Saddam Hussein’s attorneys, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, described the proceedings as a mockery of justice. Clark was thrown out of the court on Sunday for handing a note to the judge criticizing the trial. Meanwhile, the European Union is urging Iraq not to carry out the death sentence. The EU opposes capital punishment in all cases. President Bush praised the court’s decision.

• President Bush: “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 — it’s a major achievement for Iraq’s young democracy and its constitutional government.”

Leading Democrats questioned whether the court’s decision would make a difference on the ground in Iraq.

• Rahm Emanuel, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign: “At that time, when he was caught, the president said we had turned the corner in Iraq. And after three years, three and a half years, $380 billion, nearly 3,000 American lives, that was a slogan then, like “Mission Accomplished,” and we haven’t really accomplished much in Iraq.”