WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Prime Minister Helen Clark said Monday the guilty verdict handed down to Saddam Hussein was the appropriate result - but she does not want him executed.

Saddam and two of his senior allies were sentenced Sunday to be hanged after an Iraqi court found them guilty of crimes against humanity.

Clark said it was "highly appropriate" and no surprise that the former Iraqi leader was found guilty.

"However, I have a long-standing objection to the death penalty and that will always be a concern to me," she told radio network Newstalk ZB.

Asked whether Saddam got a fair trial, Clark said that it was difficult to say from this distance.

His supporters would always say it was not fair while others would say he got exactly the justice he deserved, she noted.

"That will be a reflection of how polarized Iraq is today," Clark said.

New Zealand refused to send troops to support the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq that saw Saddam Hussein deposed, saying it would only participate in a United Nations-led intervention.

It later sent army engineers to southern Iraq to help with postwar reconstruction.