Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said that he expects Saddam Hussein to be executed by end of 2006.
"I expect the execution to happen before the end of this year," he said on Tuesday in an interview to the BBC.
The former Iraqi President is facing death sentence after being convicted of crimes against humanity.
"We will like the whole world to respect the judicial will of Iraq," he was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
An autonomous appeal against the guilty verdict will be launched which will be decided by a panel of nine judges.
If the death sentence is upheld, the execution must be carried out within 30 days, the report said.
Maliki said that if the appeals court confirmed Saddam's death sentence, "it will be the government's responsibility to carry it out."