이라크 독재자 사담 후세인이 이라크 고등재판소에서 사형을 선고받았다. 처형방법은 교수형이다. 바그다드 시민들은 거리로 쏟아져나와 만세를 불렀다. 그의 이복동생과 전 혁명재판소 소장도 사형선고를 받았다. 1982년 사담 후세인에 대한 암살음모가 두자일에서 발각되었다. 후세인은 148명의 마을 사람들을 고문하고 처형했다. 그가 저지른 수많은 학살범죄 중 겨우 한 건에 대해서 사형선고가 난 것이다. 쿠르드族에 대한 독가스 사용 등 다른 사건들이 후세인에 대한 추가 사형선고를 기다리고 있다. 그는 몇 번 죽어야 죄를 갚을 수 있을까? 이런 악당의 목숨이 하나뿐이란 것이 불공평하다.

후세인에 대한 사형선고 뉴스를 듣고 가슴이 철렁 내려앉았을 사람이 하나 있다. 김정일이다. 만약 김정일이 권좌에서 물러난다면 그를 기다리고 있을 것은 수많은 사형선고이다. 그 사형선고를 다 집행하려면 김정일은 목숨이 수십 개 있어야 할 것이다.

1983년 아웅산 테러를 지령하여 咸秉春 대통령 비서실장 등 17명의 한국인 엘리트를 죽인 죄, 그 4년 뒤 김현희-김승일 팀에게 대한항공기 테러를 지령하여 中東건설노동자 등 115명을 죽인 죄, '로열 패미리'의 비밀을 폭로한 이한영씨를 암살하도록 명령한 죄, 강제수용소에 20만 명을 구금하고 있고, 지난 30여년간 이곳에서 약40만 명을 학살한 죄, 1974년 문세광에게 박정희 대통령을 암살하라고 지령했다가 결국은 육영수 여사를 죽인 죄 등등. 후세인의 학살은 김정일의 학살에 비교하면 양반급이다.

김정일이 절대로 핵무장과 對南赤化전략을 포기할 수 없는 여러 이유중의 하나가 바로 그가 지은 많은 죄이다. 그는 북한을 정상화할 수 없는 業報를 쌓았다. 그 代價를 목숨으로 치르지 않고선 개혁 개방은 불가능하다. 좋은 시절이 와서 김정일에게 사형이 선고되는 날 현실의 법정에서, 또는 역사의 법정에서 그의 핵무장과 對南적화공작을 도운 김대중, 노무현씨에겐 어떤 선고가 떨어질 것인가? 학살방조 혐의? 핵개발 共犯 혐의?

하벨 전 체코 대통령 등이 김정일의 인간말살 정책에 대하여 유엔안보리가 개입해야 한다고 주장한 것은 너무나 고마운 이야기이다. 자칭 '행동하는 양심' 김대중 노벨평화상 수상자는 왜 동족에 대한 독재자의 학살행위에 대해서는 늘 침묵하는가? 이런 자에 대한 노벨평화상 회수제도는 없는가? 오늘은 김정일과 김대중씨에겐 잠 못 이루는 밤이 될 것이다.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi High Tribunal on Sunday sentenced a combative Saddam Hussein and two other defendants to death by hanging for a brutal crackdown in 1982 in the Shiite town of Dujail.

Iraqis under a curfew in Baghdad spilled out into the streets in celebration of the verdict, news footage showed. But protests were held in Saddam Hussein's hometown.

Along with Hussein, his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Hassan, and former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court Awad Bandar also got death. (Watch Hussein shout protests during sentencing -- 4:05 )

Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president of Iraq, was sentenced to life in prison.

'The verdict was predetermined and has nothing to do with court proceedings,' Ramadan said.

Mohammed Azzawi Ali, a former Dujail Baath Party official, was acquitted because of insufficient evidence against him, the court said.

The three others -- Abdullah Kadhem Ruwaid, Ali Dayem Ali, and Misher Abdullah Ruwaid -- were sentenced to 15 years each.

There will be automatic appeals for the four who were sentenced to death and life in prison.

The 50-minute session was dramatic. Hussein entered with a Quran in hand, as he had in the past. He began screaming Allahu Akhbar -- God is great -- as the verdict and sentencing was read.

He also argued with the chief judge and shouted, 'Damn you and your court.'

As the judge ordered him taken away, Hussein said, 'Don't push me, boy.'

Bandar also screamed Allahu Akhbar as he was taken out of court.

Defense attorney Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney general, was ousted by judges early in the session. The court asked him to leave, saying he had come here from the United States to mock the Iraqi people and the court.

Another defense attorney, Ziad al-Najdawi, angrily told reporters as he left the courtroom, 'That's the American justice.'

The Dujail case stemmed from a crackdown against townspeople after a 1982 assassination attempt against Hussein in the town. The crackdown involved the ordered executions of 148 males.

Before Sunday's verdicts were announced, a curfew was imposed in Baghdad and two provinces -- Diyala and Salaheddin -- with large Sunni populations ahead of expected violence.

Predominantly Shiite and Kurdish provinces were not under curfew.

About 2,000 protesters in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Sunday defied the curfew and demonstrated in support of the former leader.

A witness said the protesters carried posters of the former president and were shooting into the air.

The numbers of demonstrators grew after the sentence was announced. A complete movement ban -- both people and vehicles -- was imposed on Sunday in the provinces of Baghdad, Diyala and Salaheddin -- where Tikrit is located.

The Baghdad International Airport also shut down until further notice.

This verdicts come nearly three years after U.S.-led forces plucked Hussein out of hiding and just a few days before U.S. midterm elections, with the Iraqi war at center stage.

The U.S. ambassador in Iraq praised the verdicts and sentencing as 'an important milestone for Iraq.'

'Although the Iraqis may face difficult days in the coming weeks, closing the book on Saddam and his regime is an opportunity to unite and build a better future,' Zalmay Khalilzad said in a statement issued shortly after the verdicts were rendered.

Outbursts and walkouts
The Dujail trial, the first in what is a series of proceedings against former regime officials, began October 19, 2005, and ended July 27. It was a turbulent courtroom battle witnessed on TV across the globe.

It was marked by outbursts and harangues from Hussein and his co-defendants, lawyer walkouts, much-criticized court actions, and complaints from lawyers about poor security. There were grave concerns about security for legal teams and their families; three defense lawyers were killed. (Full story)

Witness testimony and prosecutors got their case across, however. According to court documents, the military, political and security apparatus in Iraq and Dujail killed, arrested, detained and tortured men, women and children in the town. Homes were demolished and orchards were razed.

The Revolutionary Court sentenced 148 males to death, with Saddam's signature ratifying the order.

But there were other deaths as well -- nine people were killed during the destruction of orchards, and many of the 399 people who had been detained were either killed or remain missing.

Hussein, Hassan and Ramadan were charged with willful killing, deportation or forcible transfer of population; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental norms of law; torture; enforced disappearance of persons, and other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering; or serious injury to the body or to the mental or physical health.

Bandar was charged with willful killing by issuing the death sentences for the 148 people.

The remaining defendants were lower-level Baath Party officials from Dujail, who were charged with informing on residents who later died in prison or were sentenced to death.

Hussein is also in the middle of another trial involving the 1988 Anfal campaign, the government offensive in the country's Kurdish region. Hussein is charged in that case with genocide.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Aneesh Raman contributed to this report.