BAGHDAD - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said he expects toppled leader Saddam Hussein to be executed before the end of the year.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) speaks during a news conference after meeting tribal chiefs of Amarah province, in Baghdad November 4, 2006. [Reuters]

Saddam was sentenced on Sunday by a US-backed Iraqi court to hang for crimes against humanity.

"We are waiting for the decision of the appeals court," Maliki told the BBC in an interview posted on its Web site.

"If it confirms the sentence it will be the government's responsibility to carry it out. We would like the whole world to respect Iraq's judicial will. I expect the execution to happen before the end of this year," Maliki said.

An appeal court has the power to overturn the verdict or change the sentence, such as commuting it to life imprisonment. Legal experts and officials have said it could be months before appeals are exhausted.

Maliki, a member of the majority Muslim Shi'ite community persecuted under Saddam's Sunni-dominated rule, said after the verdict was announced that the fallen strongman had got "what he deserved."

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His comments in the past that Saddam's execution could not come soon enough provoked criticism from international legal rights groups over government pressure on the legal process.