Nov 5 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity on Sunday and sentenced to hang for ordering the killing, torture and jailing of hundreds of Shi'ites after a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam in their town, Dujail.

Here is a roundup of reactions to the verdict:

U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH

"Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's effort to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law."

"It is a major achievement for Iraq's young democracy and its constitutional government."

IRAQI PRIME MINISTER NURI AL-MALIKI

"He is facing the punishment he deserves."

SADDAM HUSSEIN

"Long live the people, long live the nation. Down with the agents, down with the invaders. Allah is great...

"I urge the people of great Iraq to forgive all of those who had strayed should they renounce their (treacherous) position. I also urge the people of great Iraq not to be angry with the people of the countries that committed aggression against Iraq and to be open for forgiveness."

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

"Today's decision is a hopeful reminder to all Iraqis that the rule of law can triumph over the rule of fear and that the peaceful pursuit of justice is preferable to the pursuit of vengeance."

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN MOHAMMAD ALI HOSSEINI

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, remembering the inhuman crimes of Saddam and his allies against the Iraqi, Iranian and Kuwaiti nations, and the necessity of preserving the rights of these nations, welcomes the verdict."

FINLAND, AS CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE EU

"The EU opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances, and it should not be carried out in this case either."

CARDINAL RENATO MARTINO, HEAD OF THE VATICAN'S COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE

"For me, punishing a crime with another crime -- which is what killing for vindication is -- would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

MALCOLM SMART, DIRECTOR OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME FOR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

"The court was not impartial. There were not adequate steps taken to protect the security of defence lawyers and witnesses."

BRITISH HOME SECRETARY JOHN REID

"It is in a sense the ultimate expression of the sovereignty of Iraq. They are masters of their own destiny. And they have taken a decision today as controllers of that destiny which I think all of us ought to respect."

KUWAITI POLITICAL ANALYST AND FORMER OIL MINISTER ALI AL-BAGHLI

"This is good news...Saddam deserves to be hanged because of the atrocities he inflicted on his people for the past 35 years and on his neighbours also. He sent millions of people to their deaths."

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