Iraq's fugitive vice-president has declared his "absolute innocence" after he was sentenced to death on charges of masterminding the murder of rivals.
Tariq al-Hashemi, who fled Iraq after the government brought charges against him, rejected the conviction as a politically motivated sham and said he would not return for an appeal unless he could be assured of a fair day in court.
Hashemi, a Sunni, said a fair trial would be impossible in Baghdad and accused the Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, of manipulating the courts against him as part of a political vendetta.
"The verdict is unjust, politicised, illegitimate and I will not recognise it," Hashemi said in the Turkish capital, Ankara. "But I put it as a medal of honour on my chest because it was Maliki, not anyone else, behind it. I'm proud that it is Maliki, and not anyone else, to target me.
"The death sentence is a price I have to pay due to my love for my country and my loyalty to my people. I reiterate that I'm innocent, and am ready to stand before a fair judicial system and not a corrupt one that is under Maliki's influence."
Asked whether he would return to Baghdad within 30 days to seek a retrial, as is his right under Iraqi law, Hashemi said: "I'm not going, regardless of the timescale that has been offered to me."
Spokespeople for Maliki and the Iraqi government could not be reached for comment.
Hashemi fled to Turkey after the Iraqi government issued the terror charges against him in December, a day after US troops withdrew from the country. The case has fuelled Sunni Muslim and Kurdish resentment towards Maliki, who critics say is monopolising power.
On Sunday Baghdad's criminal court convicted Hashemi and his son-in-law, Ahmed Qahtan, of organising the murders of a Shia security official and a lawyer who had refused to help the vice-president's allies in terror cases. In a third case, over the killing of a security officer, the two defendants were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
The charges were the first against Hashemi to go to trial among the government's allegations that he played a role in 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks from 2005 to 2011, years in which the country was mired in sectarian violence that followed the US-led invasion in 2003 that ousted Saddam Hussein's Sunni regime. Most of the attacks were allegedly carried out by Hashemi's bodyguards and other employees, and largely targeted government officials, security forces and Shia pilgrims.
Most of the evidence came from 10 of his former bodyguards who testified that they were ordered by Qahtan, and then paid, to carry out killings in small groups. Qahtan managed Hashemi's vice-presidential office.
Hashemi has long accused the government of torturing the bodyguards into giving false statements. His defence team did not offer any witnesses or testimony during the trial. The vice-president, who has been in office since 2006, is on Interpol's most-wanted list but Turkey has shown no interest in sending him back to Baghdad.
Hashemi appeared defiantly upbeat at the packed press conference in Ankara. "I am not worried about my life," he said. "I am worried about the future of my country."
On Sunday a series of bombings and shootings left 92 people dead and more than 360 wounded. On Monday, in a statement posted on a militant website, al-Qaida's branch in Iraq claimed responsibility and vowed there would be more "black days ahead".