In this Sept. 5, 2010 file photo, Tariq Aziz, former Iraqi foreign minister and deputy prime minister speaks to the Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq.Hadi Mizban/The Associated Press
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday he will not sign an execution order for Tariq Aziz, the former deputy of dictator Saddam Hussein who was sentenced to death last month over the persecution of Islamic parties.
"No, I will not sign the execution order for Tariq Aziz, because I am a socialist," Mr. Talabani told French television France 24 in an interview.
"I sympathize with Tariq Aziz because he is an Iraqi Christian. Moreover he is an old man who is over 70," he said.
Iraq's high tribunal passed a death sentence on Mr. Aziz, once the international face of Mr. Hussein's government, in late October.
The Vatican and Russia have both called on Iraq not to carry out the death sentence on humanitarian grounds, noting his age and the fact he has health problems.
Mr. Aziz was well known in foreign capitals and at the United Nations before Mr. Hussein's downfall.