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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The Iraqi High Tribunal in Baghdad on Sunday sentenced a combative Saddam Hussein and two other defendants to death by hanging for a brutal crackdown in 1982 in the Shiite town of Dujail.

Despite a curfew, Iraqis in Baghdad spilled out into the streets to celebrate the verdict. But protests were held in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

"The Saddam Hussein era is in the past now, as was the era of Hitler and Mussolini," said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, calling Hussein the worst ruler ever in Iraq.(Watch al-Maliki call Hussein 'worst ruler' in Iraq's history -- 3:06)

"We want an Iraq where all Iraqis are equal before the law," he said. "The policy of discrimination and persecution is over."

The case will be automatically appealed to the Appellate Chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal. The defense has 30 days to file any motions. (Full story)

The appeals process was likely to take three to four weeks once the formal paperwork was submitted, a court official told The Associated Press.

However, there is no limit to how long the appeals process can take.

If the Appellate Chamber upholds the conviction and sentence, Hussein must be executed within 30 days.

White House spokesman Tony Snow praised the Dujail trial verdict, including Hussein's sentence of death by hanging for crimes against humanity.

"It demonstrates that you've got an independent Iraqi judiciary and that they were applying their own laws," Snow said.

World reaction to the verdict was mixed.

Along with Hussein, his half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Hassan, and former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court Awad Bandar also were sentenced to death.

Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president of Iraq, was sentenced to life in prison.

"The verdict was predetermined and has nothing to do with court proceedings," Ramadan said.

Mohammed Azzawi Ali, a former Dujail Baath Party official, was acquitted because of insufficient evidence against him, the court said.

The three others -- Abdullah Kadhem Ruwaid, Ali Dayem Ali, and Misher Abdullah Ruwaid -- were sentenced to 15 years each.

The Dujail case stemmed from a crackdown against townspeople after a 1982 assassination attempt against Hussein in the town. The crackdown involved the ordered executions of 148 males.

'Damn you and your court'

The 50-minute session was dramatic. Hussein entered with a Quran in hand, as he had in the past. He began shouting "Allahu Akhbar" -- God is great -- as the verdict and sentencing was read.

He also argued with the chief judge and shouted, "Damn you and your court."

As the judge ordered him taken away, Hussein said, "Don't push me, boy."

Bandar also shouted "Allahu Akhbar" as he was taken out of court.

Defense attorney Ramsey Clark was also in court, but he was soon ousted by judges for contempt of court. The court accused Clark, a former U.S. attorney general, of insulting the court and the Iraqi people.

Another defense attorney, Ziad al-Najdawi, angrily told reporters as he left the courtroom, "That's the American justice."

During the trial proceedings a few months ago, Hussein said that if he received a death sentence, he would prefer to be executed by a firing squad.

However, at a press conference later, chief prosecutor Jaafar Moussaoui said the law stipulates that a firing squad is normally the sentence issued by military courts. This court deals with crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, and calls for death by hanging, he said.

Curfew in Sunni areas

Before Sunday's verdicts were announced, a curfew was imposed in Baghdad and two provinces -- Diyala and Salaheddin -- with large Sunni populations. Predominantly Shiite and Kurdish provinces were not under curfew.

About 2,000 protesters in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Sunday defied the curfew and demonstrated in support of the former leader.

The numbers of demonstrators grew after the sentence was announced. A complete movement ban -- both people and vehicles -- was imposed on Sunday in the provinces of Baghdad, Diyala and Salaheddin, where Tikrit is located.

The Baghdad International Airport also shut down until further notice.

This verdicts come nearly three years after U.S.-led forces plucked Hussein out of hiding and just a few days before U.S. midterm elections, with the Iraqi war at center stage.

The U.S. ambassador in Iraq praised the verdicts and sentencing as "an important milestone for Iraq."

"Although the Iraqis may face difficult days in the coming weeks, closing the book on Saddam and his regime is an opportunity to unite and build a better future," Zalmay Khalilzad said in a statement issued shortly after the verdicts were rendered.

Outbursts and walkouts

The Dujail trial, the first in a series of proceedings against former regime officials, began October 19, 2005, and ended July 27. It was a turbulent courtroom battle witnessed on TV across the globe.

It was marked by outbursts and harangues from Hussein and his co-defendants, lawyer walkouts, much-criticized court actions, and complaints from lawyers about poor security. There were grave concerns about security for legal teams and their families; three defense lawyers were killed.

Witness testimony and prosecutors got their case across, however. According to court documents, the military, political and security apparatus in Iraq and Dujail killed, arrested, detained and tortured men, women and children in the town. Homes were demolished and orchards were razed.

Hussein is also in the middle of another trial involving the 1988 Anfal campaign, the government offensive in the country's Kurdish region. Hussein is charged in that case with genocide.

Source: CNN