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Rome has lit up the Colosseum in a gesture to support Italy's campaign for a United Nations moratorium on the death penalty, launched in the wake of Saddam Hussein's hanging.
The Colosseum, once the site of bloody battles to entertain gawking Roman spectators, is often lit to mark important events and days of national mourning.
Italy, which has just taken up a temporary Security Council seat, said this week it would take its campaign to the countries which had already signed a non-binding declaration against the death penalty last year.
Some 68 countries have the death penalty, including the United States and South Korea.
Saddam was hanged a week ago and speculation is mounting that the Iraqi government will soon execute his two co-defendants, his half brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan al-Tikriti, and Awad al-Bander, a former chief judge, now the focus of defence lawyer efforts.
- REUTERS
